WĀNANA PŪ– RECOLLECT
by danno7576
Summary: Steve and Danny think it's time to enjoy their weekend off, when a building around the corner explodes. Steve, of course, jumps back in action. Danny eventually comes along. What they don't know is that the building is rigged with a second bomb. WHUMP ANGST
1. Chapter 1

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the Characters.**

 **A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7. I apologize in advance for any mistakes... Please let me know if you see one, so I can correct it and improve my grammar skills. I really enjoyed writing this story, so I hope you'll enjoy it as well while reading it! Love to hear what you think of it! Suggestions are always welcome; you guys read it after all :) Mahalo for your support.**

 **Chapter One**

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 **FRIDAY 6:17 PM ALAKEA ST. - DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

Steve and Danny were driving on their way back from a just closed murder investigation. Steve pulled over in front of the Central Pacific Bank downtown Honolulu. He made a quick stop at the bank, before both men could enjoy their weekend. Well it was just a matter of time before the phone would ring saying they had a new case, but until then they appreciated the time off.

Steve wanted to make it as quickly as possible, so he jogged towards the ATM. Danny had no reason to stay behind, so he followed Steve up to the bank. Steve inserted his card into the machine as Danny stood behind him with both hands in his pockets, patiently waiting for Steve. Steve folded several bills into his wallet and marched right past Danny, ignoring the fact that he had been waiting there for him.

"Would you mind telling me what just happened?" Danny raised his eyebrows and looked surprised at Steve.

"What happened? You were standing right behind me? A little too close actually." Steve stopped and turned around putting his wallet back into his pocket of his gray pants. He looked confused from the machine back to Danny.

"I got to say, buddy. I didn't even know you had a bank account." Danny walked past Steve as he placed his hand shortly on his shoulder.

"What did you think? That the governor would bring me my salary, every month, in cash?" Steve sounded sarcastic; he stood with open arms and leaned a bit forward.

"It wouldn't be the first time that you didn't tell me something because it is classified." Danny was already at the Camaro, while Steve stood halfway between the car and the bank. He looked with an aneurysm face at Danny. Danny knew the argument just started, so he leaned with his forearms on the roof of the Camaro and looked daring at Steve.

"You, my friend can absolutely argue about everything! So I'm going to ignore what you just said and change the subject." Steve pointed towards Danny as he walked back to the Camaro with his right hand on his holster.

"Why? Because you think you end up paying for my beers tonight if we continue, or what?" Danny teased.

"I thought you said you had plans tonight?" Steve asked confused.

"Yes, I do. I uh, I have to pick up Grace on the other side of the island before she overdoses on alcohol or drugs." Danny rambled as he held up his index finger to let Steve know he was indeed right about him having plans tonight.

"Oh come on, Grace wouldn't do that?" Steve said it with disbelief. He leaned as well with both forearms on the rooftop of the Camaro.

"I sure hope not, but lately I don't know what's going on in that head of her. Maybe I should talk to Will about it." Danny threw his left hand in the air, like he was giving up. He opened the passenger door to get in.

"You do not want to do that," Steve looked with disapproval at his friend. "Danny, you have to trust her. Let her explore the world." Steve opened his door as well. He didn't get in though. He could see the anger and frustration build up inside his partner.

"Trust her? Explore the world?" Danny snapped. "You must be father of the year? Why didn't I ask for advice sooner?" Danny looked at Steve with big eyes. "Oh wait, you don't have any children and if you had them I would've been very concerned!" Danny was arguing with his hands and a furrowed brow. Steve held on to the door with his right hand as he leaned with his left hand on the rooftop. He snorted and rolled his eyes, he should've known better than to say something like that. Not that it stopped Danny; he just continued to rant and share his frustration.

"Explore the world! She can explore the world, within a 50 feet radius around me. Not on the other side of the island with a group of older kids that are wreck less, an endangerment to the society and-and-and a whole bunch of other stuff!" Danny looked pissed off at Steve with narrowed eyes and a still furrowed brow.

"You're being a little over dramatic, as usual, but if you shut up, beers are on me tonight." Steve tried to settle the argument and made another attempt to get into the Camaro.

"You are unbelievable!" Danny raised his voice. "That's bottom line, my friend." Danny also tried to get into the car, but they clearly weren't done shouting over the rooftop.

"What? Because I'm offering to pay for your beers." Steve asked confused. He had no idea what the issue was this time.

"No. Yeah also. You know I have to decline on that generous offer of yours, because like I just told you, I have to pick up my mentally unstable fourteen-year-old on the other side of the island. And if, with the emphasis on if, there comes a night where we can _enjoy_ a couple of beers, I will remind you on that offer. But as I know you, you will pretend this conversation never happened and I have to pay for the both of us. As always." Danny looked furious at Steve and shook his head in disbelieve. He cut off the argument by getting in the car.

"Never mind, you didn't shut up." Steve needed to have the last word. He had accepted to be the one on the receiving end of one of Danny's long-winded explanations, but that didn't mean he wouldn't argue back.

Steve got in the car as well. They slammed their doors at the same time. As both doors closed a loud explosion reverberated through the street. The blast rocked the car violently. It clearly was near by, but they didn't see anything explode.

"What are you looking at me for?" Steve could feel Danny staring at him. He was right. Danny stared with a crooked head and narrowed eyes at him.

"Once again I'm proven right! You're not just a bullet magnet, you are a magnet to danger in general!" Danny exclaimed with a high-pitched voice and buckled up as Steve speeded away, searching for the explosion.

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 **FRIDAY 6:29 PM MERCHANT ST. - DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

They didn't have to drive too far. They just went four times around the corner to stumble on complete chaos. People were running down the street. Smoke and dust were coming out of an office building. Concrete and glass covered the street. Steve parked the Camaro abruptly on the middle of the street. They got quickly out of the car. Danny looked around, absorbing what just happened. Steve on the other hand started to jog in the opposite direction from where the people were coming from. He was going inside.

"Whoa, Whoa, hey, Steve!" Danny had to yell to overcome the screaming people who were getting out of the building. He stopped Steve from going in, by pulling him back by his right bicep.

"What?" Steve barked irritated, while he observed the scene instead of paying attention to Danny.

"I thought you said you weren't trying to kill yourself for the past six years? If you run in that building you're committing suicide!" Danny raised his voice, letting Steve know he was completely insane if he would go in. He was still holding on to Steve's arm, because he knew the minute he would let go, Steve would ran inside.

"No, I'm not Danny. There are still people inside, who are in need of our help. Only two windows are blown out, the rest is still intact. The damage is mostly on the second floor. So we'll be fine." Steve pointed to the building. Indeed only two windows were blown out; the rest of the building was still intact. The construction seemed steady.

"Why do you always need to help, huh? Corpses can't help people you know that, right? They're too busy being dead!" Danny rolled with his eyes. Could Steve just act normal for once? He still didn't like to go inside. For all he knew the building could come down any second.

"Could you just shut up for once? I'll go myself, no problem." Steve pulled his arm out of Danny's grip. He knew Danny would come along eventually.

"I hate you. You know I'm not going to let you go in alone," Danny let out an anxious breath, but followed his partner inside.

They entered through the main entrance. People were coming down the stairs. The elevators were shut down. The lobby seemed cleared, so Steve signaled they should go up. They ran upstairs, taking two flights at the time. A few people were still coming down, so they directed them outside. Danny pulled the door to the first floor open.

"You clear the first floor, I'll go up to the second." Steve demanded while he was already going up to the second floor.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Danny quickly barked, before Steve was out of sight.

"Yeah, I love you too. Call if you need anything or help maybe." Steve reacted sarcastic as he almost reached the top of the stairs. Danny clenched his jaw. He really didn't like this plan, but he had to go with it, there was no turning back. He started to jog through the hallway, searching for people inside the offices. Steve did the same on the second floor. He helped a woman to get to the staircase. Everything else was empty.

The explosion had been at the middle of the hallway. Steve had to climb over pieces of concrete to get to the other offices. He had to make sure that no one was left behind. Smoke seemed to have vanished through the blown out windows. Dust was everywhere though. Wires were coming out of the ceiling, but it didn't seem like a major explosion. The blast hadn't been that big. He carefully made his way to the end of the hallway. Steve checked the last office. It was a big corner office; the desk was standing oblique in the left corner. It reminded Steve a bit of his own office. A man was sitting behind the desk.

"Sir, are you all right? You need to get out of the building." Steve stumbled in and checked on the man. He was definitely breathing, but he seemed in shock.

"You s-should get out of here." The man looked confused at Steve. His face was covered with cuts and blood, probably from all the shattered glass.

"I'm commander Steve McGarrett, Five-0. I'm clearing the building. What's your name?" Steve identified himself as he walked over to the man. He didn't get an answer immediately; two brown eyes stared with complete panic at Steve. Steve guessed the man was in shock. "Sir?"

"Frank. Frank Forbes, This-This is my company, I'm the CEO." The man stammered as he looked around at the damage.

"All right Frank, lets get you out of here." Steve tried to get the man up, so they could make their way to the exit. The moment he offered Frank his hand, he noticed the nasty cut on Frank's leg. Blood was streaming out of it. There was no way Frank would walk out this building by himself. Steve's phone rang several times before he answered. Caller ID showed it was Danny. Steve answered and held his phone with his shoulder to his ear.

"Did you clear the first floor?" Steve tried to get Frank up in the mean time, but Frank was definitely a lot bigger than Steve.

"No, I grabbed us some dinner. Yeah, I cleared the first floor, what about the second floor?" Danny sassed with his Jersey attitude.

Even though Steve could handle a lot, he wasn't able to get Frank downstairs all by himself. "I can use a hand."

"Oh you need help? My help to be exactly?" Steve could hear Danny gloat on the other side of the phone.

"Office next to the west stairwell." Steve disconnected the call. He was clearly not in the mood to argue.

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"Hey? Everything okay?" Danny jogged towards Steve, examining Steve quickly. He had been a bit worried when Steve abruptly had disconnected the call. He seemed fine though. Steve managed to get Frank up and made it almost out of the office. Danny had come to the second floor the same way as Steve did. Only with an almost unconscious man, it wasn't the brightest idea to go back to the east staircase. Luckily there was a second stairwell right in front of the office.

"Yeah, he got injured. His leg is bleeding pretty badly. Lets get him outside," Steve stumbled against the wall trying to hold up Frank. He was glad Danny showed up, because it would be a lot easier to support Frank together. Danny pulled Frank's arm around his neck to help caring the man to the exit.

"There's a-a… s-second bomb." Frank stammered.

"Excuse me? Tell me he didn't say that?" Danny abruptly stopped and looked worried from the man to Steve and back.

Steve noticed Danny's worried look, but he stayed calm and asked for confirmation. "Frank, what do you mean?"

"You n-need to get… to get o-out of here." Frank was about to lose consciousness, so Steve asked quickly before he would pass out. "Where's the second bomb?"

"You got to be kidding me. Have you lost your mind? Where do you think? Come on! Out! Now!" Danny raised his voice and looked with disbelief at Steve. He recognized the specific look on Steve's face.

"No-no-no. I know what you're thinking and no, you are not going to search for the damn bomb! We're getting out!" Danny tried to make an attempt to walk further, but Steve was still looking around and not listening to him at all. "NOW!" Danny demanded. Still Steve didn't move an inch.

"STEVE!" Danny yelled at his partner. He finally got Steve's attention.

"All right! Lets go!" Steve rewrapped Forbes his arm around his neck and continued towards the stairwell. Steve kicked with his right foot the door open to the stairwell. They rushed down to the first floor. Steve stopped abruptly as they're about to go down to the ground floor. The steps were covered with concrete and rubbish was everywhere. There was no way they could go down there.

"Just hold him for a sec." Steve let go of Forbes who was now completely leaning with all his weight on Danny. Steve tried to make his way down stairs, while he kicked and lifted some rubbish and concrete off the steps.

"Do I need to remind you that we might don't have a second? Danny snapped irritated at Steve. He was barely holding the CEO. The man's clearly taller than Danny and slightly overweighed and unconscious from the blood loss.

"Don't panic, I'm clearing a path, okay?" Steve ignored Danny's complained and worked as fast as he could.

"Clearing a path? You know most people would panic; it's a normal response in a situation like this! They would want to get out as soon as possible. No, but you, you are getting turned on in situations like this. You love this. The-the adrenaline rushing through your veins." Danny leaned Frank against the wall. He wasn't able to hold him any longer on his own. He swept the sweat form his forehead with the back of his hand.

"You're not helping, you know that, right?" Steve snapped back towards Danny, looking him in the eye. Steve already cleared the stair and kicked in the door leading towards the lobby, which would eventually lead to the main exit of the building.

"I don't know how you do it?" Danny let out a loud sigh as he placed his arm around Frank. Trying to help him down the stairs on his own, without Steve's help. "After all these years it's sti-" All of a sudden a massive explosion blew both men off their feet. Throwing them around as the building collapsed around them.

 **-H50-**

 **A/N: Thank you for reading. Chapter two will be uploaded within two days! Mahalo!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.**

 **A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7. Thank you for the kind reviews, the favs and follows.** **You guys are awesome.**

 **I really enjoyed writing this story, so I hope you'll enjoy it as well while reading it! Love to hear what you think of it! Suggestions are always welcome; you guys read it after all :) Mahalo for your support.**

 **Chapter Two**

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For a moment he didn't know where he was, but it all came back pretty quickly. The loud bang, the blast that had blown him off his feet and dust that seemed to be everywhere. It all came out of nowhere. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Which was a good sign, because it meant he was still alive. He rolled onto his back as he heard everything creak around him. Small pieces of concrete fell off him as he turned onto his back. As Steve tried to sit up a high and deafening sound was ringing through his ears. He covered his ears in pain and closed his eyes.

He waited till the ringing stopped. Dust was everywhere, so he coughed a few times, to clear his throat. He quickly searched for his phone. _Thank god it was still intact._ He switched the flashlight, on his phone, on and scanned his surroundings. He was in a long small space. No staircase around him though. Steve remembered that he kicked in the door from the staircase. He must have been blown into the hallway towards the lobby, but all he could see was a door, nothing else.

There wasn't much concrete or other stuff pinning him down. There was enough around him though. He had definitely been lucky. Steve looked at the time on his phone. He blacked out for a moment, but it wasn't longer than five minutes. He looked at the door opening to the staircase. _Oh god. Where the hell was his partner?_ The minute he realized Danny wasn't in his sight, his phone rang.

"Danny!" Steve quickly answered his phone without looking who called him.

 _"Steve, it's Duke, do you know where Danny is? His Camaro is parked on the scene of an exploded building."_

"We-we're inside the collapsed building, Duke." Steve looked around trying to find a way back to the stairwell to find Danny.

 _"You're inside? You guys okay? You trapped?"_ Duke sounded concerned.

"I'm fine, I don't see Danny though." Steve gently got himself back on his feet. His back hurt like hell, so he let out a small grunt. His ears started to ring again, but he didn't care, he had to find his friend. "DANNY!" Steve yelled, with the hope to hear Danny's voice.

 _"Steve, what's your location?"_ Duke asked.

"West staircase, ground floor. Can you guys get into the building or is it complete caved in?" Steve could hear other people, probably trying to move the concrete that blocked the door.

 _"Firefighters are canvasing the ground floor, they'll be with you soon."_ Duke informed Steve on the situation outside and now inside as well.

"Good. I have to find Danny, he was right behind me."

 _"All right, EMT's are on standby."_ Duke notified, since Steve hadn't found Danny yet, he assumed the worst.

"Thanks Duke." Steve disconnected the call, turned around and headed towards the staircase.

"DANNY?" Steve shouted in fear. His partners name echoed through the collapsed space. It worried him that Danny hadn't responded to anything yet.

"DANNY?" Steve yelled again and again. His heart continued to pound in his chest. He had to find his friend. After all they had been through the past years this could not be how it ended.

Steve found his way back to the staircase. He actually hadn't been blown that far from it. The door had been blown out and blocked the entrance a bit. Steve climbed his way in. He stepped on something and it wasn't a piece of concrete. He shed the light towards the ground. He tensed.

He stepped on a hand. He could definitely make out a body on the floor. His stomach turned around as he slowly shed his light on the arm and followed the arm to the body. His hand was shaking, but some part of him needed to know for sure. Steve let out a big and relieved breath as he recognized Frank. He kneeled beside him and quickly placed his index and middle finger on the side of his neck to feel if he had a pulse. There was none. Steve scratched his eyebrow, he was somehow relieved that it wasn't Danny, but still, there was a death man in front of him. One who did not had deserved to die.

Steve looked around, if Frank was lying here, Danny had to be close. He had been standing next to Frank as the bomb went off. Steve shed his light towards the stairs when he found another lifeless body. "Danny?" Steve asked with weakness in his voice. He felt his heart drop as he said his friend's name. He looked with big anxious eyes towards his motionless friend.

Danny was lying face down at the bottom of the stairs. Most of his body was on top of some steps, while his head and upper chest were flat on the floor. His right arm covered his face. Pieces of concrete were on his legs. Steve rushed towards his friend. His Navy SEAL training kicked in, but over the years he had become more involved when it was someone he cared about. "Danny!" Steve started to lift pieces of concrete off Danny's legs. Steve had to cough a few times from the dust.

"Danny! C'mon, buddy, wake up!" Steve carefully placed his shaking fingers on Danny's neck, trying to find a pulse. His own heartbeat went really fast as he did. Steve sighed relieved as he found one. He moved Danny's right arm, so he could see his friends face. A small pool of blood came from underneath the left side of his face. Steve couldn't see a wound or anything, but the fact that there was a pool of blood alarmed him.

"Shit. Danny. Hey! Can you hear me?" Steve panicked at the sight of his best friend lying unconscious in front of him. He started to shake Danny gently by his shoulder.

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Danny was standing at the top of the stairs. The blast had blown him off his feet and the force of the explosion had him flying through the air. Before he could even process what had happened the impact from the explosion sent him crashing down the stairs and the light went out the minute his head hit the ground.

 _Where was he?_ He couldn't figure it out. He didn't know what happened. He could feel his heart pound in his head. His head hurt like it had never done before. It was beyond a massive headache. He couldn't remember the last time he had such a headache. Danny tried to open his eyes, but they felt extremely heavy. His other instincts kicked in to figure out where he was. He could feel the cold concrete floor beneath him. He didn't know how long he had been lying on the floor, but the way his body hurt, it must have been a while. Danny tried to move his arms and legs, but it felt like his whole body had been beaten. Every movement caused some muscle or bone to ache.

He couldn't hear clearly, all he could hear was this ringing sound, and all he could feel was an unbearable throbbing pain in his head. His heart was pumping in his chest. He didn't even try to open his eyes because it seemed impossible for the moment. The sound around him came slowly back. He could hear someone call his name. It sounded really familiar, but his head and body didn't allow him to answer in any way.

Burning pain was flaring through his chest. The pain sharpened as something or someone moved his arm. The same voice popped up again. It took him a minute to realize it was his partner. Steve was saying something. _What was Steve doing here? Where was he?_ Danny focused on the voice.

"Can you hear me?" He could hear some fear in Steve's voice. All Danny wanted was to answer, but it seemed the hardest thing to do. His throat was dry. He tried to cough; maybe then he could speak up. The taste of dust in his mouth brought back some memories. The explosion. Frank. The stairwell. When one big hand started to shake him, his stomach turned around by the movement. He had to say something or it would never stop.

"Steve?" Danny's voice sounded weak. He realized he was lying face down on the floor, so he tried to turn on his side. He grunted as the pain in his chest sharpened. His ribs were probably broken by the fall on the stairs.

"Danny! You okay, buddy? You hurt?" Steve quickly responded out of relief.

"My head, it feels like I ran into a rigged building following a really dumb guy trying to help people." Danny started to laugh as he said it; it was more a nervous laugh though. He regretted it instantly.

"What are you laughing at?" Steve grinned, as he was happy his friend was better off than he first thought.

"You don't see the irony? Because I do. We went into this shit hole trying to get people out and now we're the ones who need help to get out." Danny grimaced as he shifted.

"Yeah it's hysterical." Steve said sarcastic, as he looked Danny in the eye. "You think you can sit up?" Steve knew Danny had to be hurt, or at least bleeding somewhere. He didn't want to worry Danny before he had seen it for himself.

"Do I have to?" Danny grunted as he placed his right hand on his head to deal with the pain.

"I don't think it's very comfortable to lay down this way. Here let me help you. On three okay?" Steve placed his hand underneath Danny's shoulder.

"One… two… three." Steve slowly pulled Danny off the stairs. Danny grunted loudly in pain. He started to cough and placed his left hand on his ribs.

"Argh! Stop-Stop!" Danny protested in pain and Steve stopped immediately. Danny was already off the stairs, so after a couple of deep breaths and with bunch of moans and grunts, he managed to get himself to sit against the wall. The minute he sat down he rested his head against the wall behind him. Sharp pain lanced through his head as dark spots flashed in front of his eyes. The world was spinning, so he closed his eyes. He swallowed several times to get rid of the nauseous feeling. His head felt damn heavy and it wouldn't stop pounding.

Steve was glad Danny had closed his eyes, this way he could examine Danny without him seeing it. He started at his chest. Danny had clenched his arm around his ribs. Without no doubt they were bruised, probably even broken. The way he had been laying on those steps hadn't been in his advantage. Steve shed the light on Danny's face. He swallowed a big lump in his throat as he looked at his friend. The left side of Danny's face was covered in blood. There was a nasty cut on his forehead. Steve couldn't see it clearly without touching; there was too much blood to see the actual wound. The blood was dripping onto the collar of his shirt.

"Hey, don't panic, but you're bleeding. You cracked your head open, man." Steve could see all the color drain from Danny's face. He looked white as a ghost and was breathing heavy. The words 'don't panic' didn't seem to have any effect, because Danny opened his eyes abruptly.

"What?" Danny looked around with squinted hadn't felt anything like a wound or cut yet. The headache was all he could feel, but it made sense why he would have the headache. He gazed at Steve, who was focused on Danny's forehead. His own hand went immediately up to the left side of his head. He felt a thick and sticky volume.

"Don't touch it. Let me take a look," Steve knew with all the dust floating around in the air that it wasn't a good idea to leave the cut open, but in the mean time he didn't have something sterile to clean it up. They just had to get out of here, so he could be treated.

Steve took a closer look at the cut. It was near his hairline. "It doesn't seem that deep, but it's bleeding pretty hard, or at least it did. It stopped bleeding, I guess."

"That's a good thing, right?" Danny looked with big fearful eyes at Steve. He didn't want to admit it, but he felt that there was something wrong.

"Yeah, it is. You think you can walk?" Steve looked up he could hear people talk. It sounded far away though, but at least they were going to get out soon.

"Is there a way out of this hell hole?" Danny didn't felt the urge to get up, because if he did, he didn't know if he was going to pass out or not. He didn't want to admit it to Steve, cause he would get a speech about not passing out and a whole bunch of other stuff that a trained Navy SEAL would do in this situation.

"Yes, people are searching for us." Steve placed already his hand underneath Danny's shoulder again, this time to pull him back on his feet.

"Great. Where's the uh, the guy we dragged down?" Danny stalled. He felt really light headed and dizzy. The world started to dance in front of his eyes again, so he closed them quickly.

"He's over there. He's dead, Danny." Steve looked remorseful at Frank's body.

"Is it me or feels it all too familiar." Danny opened his eyes again and followed Steve's gaze. He didn't say anything about it, but it clearly bothered him.

"Danny, we're not trapped this time okay. People are trying to get us out of here. Really soon." Steve looked intrigued at Danny. He was not about to watch Danny have another panic attack.

"Okay," Danny tried to breath slowly to pass the anxious feeling that was coming up inside him. With every breath he took a sharp and stabbing pain popped up in his chest.

"You up for it?" Steve knew Danny had to have a concussion. He didn't want him to help him up too fast. It would only work in his disadvantage and the last thing Steve needed was Danny to pass out. Danny mumbled something under his breath.

"All right, here we go," Steve observed Danny with close attention. He wanted to know if he had to stop or not. Steve slowly pulled Danny back onto his feet. Danny moaned as he leaned against the wall again. Danny's knees buckled and Steve tightened his grip.

"When ever you're ready okay?" Steve said as he locked eyes with his partner.

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Steve and Danny made their way into the hallway. Danny was walking by himself, but Steve didn't completely trust it, so he walked really close next to his friend. Firefighters had breached the hallway in the meantime, so they could climb their way out to the main exit.

They almost reached the exit when Danny stopped. "Let me ask you this. How many times do I have to be right, until you start listening to me?" Danny snapped as he looked disapproving. He was pointing to the mess around them, while he clenched the left side of his torso.

"Really? You want to do that, right here?" Steve raised one eyebrow in disbelieve. He could see the daylight and Danny chose to start an argument right in here? He was glad Danny that seemed okay, but he could still be a pain in the ass about some things.

"Just tell me," Danny asked like there was no better moment to ask it.

"All right, just because I'm glad that you're okay, I'll consider your warning the next time. But I can't promise anything." Steve stood with hand palms open.

"That'll work for me." Danny nodded approved. He regretted the movement instantly.

"Good, now can we get out of here?" Steve grinned as he rolled his eyes. Danny didn't answer he just gestured that Steve should go first and so he did. Steve walked outside as he squeezed his eyes for a moment to get used to the bright light. It wasn't very sunny anymore, but still it was brighter than inside.

"Duke? How's it going?" Steve shouted as he spotted Duke within the chaos outside.

"Steve, Danny, you guys okay?" Duke walked towards the two men, who were covered in a mixture of dust, sweat and blood.

"We're fine Duke. Danny has a nasty cut though." Steve turned around to point at his friend who was standing quietly behind him. Danny looked white as a ghost again, even with all the blood on his face.

"Buddy?" Steve grabbed his partner by his arm. Just in time before Danny's eyes rolled back into his head, his knees buckled and his legs gave out on him.

"Danny!"

 **-H50-**

 **A/N: Mahalo for reading! I'm curious what you guys think of it? How are the characters? How's the pace? Is it exciting enough?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.**

 **A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7.** **I apologize in advance for any mistakes...** **Thank you for the kind reviews, the favs and follows.** **You guys are awesome! Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you for your kind words! For the French readers/reviewers, Merci!**

 **I really enjoyed writing this story, so I hope you'll enjoy it as well while reading it! Love to hear what you think of it! Suggestions are always welcome; you guys read it after all :) Mahalo for your support.**

 **Chapter Three**

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 **FRIDAY 7:25 PM - KING'S MEDICAL CENTER – DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

After Danny collapsed on scene, they rushed him into an ambulance and drove to King's Medical Center. Steve had joined his friend in the back of the ambulance. The whole ride he had been unconscious. The EMT's had cleaned up Danny's head. There wasn't much else they could do for him at the moment. They had placed a C-Collar around his neck and an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose. As they reached the hospital they unloaded Danny on the stretcher and rushed him inside.

A couple of doctors started working on him, while a nurse asked Steve to step aside and let himself get checked. Steve stayed with his partner; he didn't care about his own health at the moment. Steve's stomach turned around as he looked at his unconscious partner. He never intended for any of this to happen. He was the one that wanted to go inside and now Danny was the one injured. Steve wasn't someone who'd be worried or be afraid, but at the sight of Danny lying on that stretcher, with blood covering his face and shirt. He had all the reasons to be worried or be afraid. Just a few minutes later they drove Danny away. He would be back soon according to the doc, so in the meantime Steve decided they could check him.

As the nurse was finishing up with Steve, Chin came rushing into the ER of Kings Medical. Steve was sitting on a gurney, putting his shirt back on. "Steve, you okay?" Chin asked anxious at the sight of his co-worker and friend. Chin wasn't easily worried, but after the plane crash with Steve and Danny being in trouble. He really had enough to be worried when the phone would ring saying one of them was in the hospital.

"Yeah I'm fine, Chin. Just a couple cuts and bruises, nothing serious." Steve pulled his black t-shirt straight as he stood up.

"Duke called and said you guys were in an explosion downtown? What were you doing there?" Chin looked confused at Steve. The last time he had seen Steve and Danny was when they had closed the murder investigation. He didn't understand how they would end up in an explosion.

"Stupid coincidence. We were around the corner when we heard the explosion. We went into the building to rescue some people, when the second explosion went off." Steve quickly summed up what happened.

"A second explosion? So it was premeditated?" Chin's brow furrowed, it became with the minute more complicated.

"Yeah, I think so." Steve shrugged his shoulders; he hadn't actually had the time to think about it.

"I'll get on it. Where's Danny? He okay?" Chin got his phone out of his jeans back pocket as he distracted asked about his other friend.

"I don't know, Chin. He's in bad shape," Steve let out an anxious breath and rubbed his eyelids as he shook his head with doubt.

"What? How bad?" Chin looked up astonished at Steve.

"He has a massive cut on his head. He seemed fine, but when we safely got out of the building he collapsed." Steve dropped down on the stretcher again. He hated it when he was out of control. His whole body felt tense.

"Where is he right now?" Chin looked puzzled around, Danny was nowhere to be found.

"They're taking him up for a few scans." Steve explained why Danny wouldn't be around somewhere. The doc had informed him briefly, he would be back later with the results of the scans.

"Okay, that's good right? Kono and Lou are on their way over here. I'll call Duke; see if they got something and to hand over the case to HPD. We're not going anywhere till we know if Danny's okay." Chin stared concerned at Steve. He wouldn't go anywhere until he was sure his Ohana was going to be all right.

"Thanks, Chin." Steve looked appreciative at Chin. Chin typed in Duke's number and walked away to make the phone call.

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Steve got himself cleaned up in the hospital bathroom. He had washed the remaining, blood and dust of his face. He had a minor cut on his cheek, but it didn't require any stitches. He went up to the waiting area when he was all cleaned up. Kono and Lou had arrived as well. They were all impatiently waiting for the doc to come with an update. Steve had been pacing around for a while now. The moment he was about to ask for an update, the same doctor as he had seen around Danny before walked into the waiting area.

The man was middle aged, dark hair with a few gray hairs mixed in. He looked formal, but not in a kind way. The doctor wasn't allowed to share Danny's medical information other than his family or next of kin, but he could tell that the people in the waiting area were more than just friends though.

"Commander McGarrett?" He still asked Steve aside to speak more private, but within reach for the others to hear the news as well. Steve went quickly up to the doctor and shook his hand. "I'm Dr. Thom Nolan, I treated Detective Williams when he was brought in."

"Doc, how is he?" Steve impatiently placed his hands on his hips and leaned a bit forward.

"Well Detective Williams has a Epidural Hematoma, a fractured skull and a couple of cracked ribs." The doc could see by his facial expression that Steve had no idea what he was talking about except for the fractured skull and cracked ribs. "A Epidural Hematoma is a traumatic brain injury. In which a buildup of blood occurs between the skull and the Dura mater. It is caused by trauma to the lateral part of the head. It's very small, so I think it will resolve on its own." Steve ran his hand over his face. The words were like actual blows to his stomach. He had trouble swallowing the big lump in his throat. He didn't know what he should say or ask. He had been silently hoping that Danny would just be fine, but a traumatic brain injury sounded everything but fine.

"We'll keep him under close observation of course. He's very confused. He has some trouble remembering, but that will clear once the bleeding is gone. The fractured skull and broken ribs will heal with rest. I don't know if he recognizes you at the moment, but if he does I think it will be good to have some familiar faces around."

"Aren't there any risks? I mean a brain bleed sounds serious," Steve rubbed his neck. It didn't sit well with him that they just had to wait till it would resolve.

"It's a small bleed. Detective Williams is awake and responsive." Doctor Nolan tried to reassure Steve and the team, whom were staring with big eyes and hand covered mouths at him.

"He collapsed in the field." Steve didn't understand it clearly. Did the doc just tell him he was awake and speaking?

"Commander, he's awake and responded as to be expected. I see no need for surgery, yet." The doc made himself clear, once more.

"Yet? So there is a possibility that, what? That the bleed could get bigger?" Steve couldn't let it go. It was his best friend they were talking about. He have had enough to deal with the past year. Danny had been there for him. Hell he even had donated his liver to Steve. So Steve wasn't just going to sit next to him, assuming everything was going to be all right.

"It could, but like I said. We will monitor him closely. I paged Doctor Reid, the neurosurgeon. So in the mean time why won't you come with me and sit with him until we move him to a room." The doc all ready gestured they all should come with him and walked ahead of them.

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 **FRIDAY 8:19 PM - KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

They hadn't moved Danny to a room yet, so he was still stationed in the ER. It would be too crowded if they all would stay, so Chin, Kono and Lou visited for a bit and went back to the waiting area. They would check in with Duke and see if he could use a hand or not.

Danny looked pale and exhausted; a sight Steve never could get used to. Steve had been standing with his arms across his chest, observing his friend. He had hoped Danny would've been awake just as the doc told him, but he had dozed off for the moment. They had cleaned up the cut and it was wrapped with a bright white bandage around his head. A nasal cannula was strapped under his nose and he was connected to a bunch of monitors and an IV line was inserted in the crook of his right arm. The bed head was raised, so he didn't lie flat on his back. A nurse came in a handed the doctor a tablet. The doctor looked with narrowed eyes at the readings on the monitor and some other tests on the tablet.

"Give him 70 grams of mannitol and lets start a nicardipine drip to lower his I.C.P." Doctor Nolan demanded.

"I'm on it, Doctor." The nurse followed the order and walked away.

"Something wrong?" Steve noticed the concerned look on the doctor's face.

"I'm going to page the neurosurgeon again." Thom ignored Steve's question and was about to leave asDanny let out a small gasp as he grunted.

"What's with the yelling?" Danny grunted weakly. He sounded hoarse and opened his eyes. He squinted.

"Hey, buddy." Steve placed his hand on Danny's shoulder to let him know he was there.

"Sir, do you know where you are?" Doctor Nolan cut off Steve and asked directly to Danny.

"I guess you know it." Danny closed his eyes immediately, his head was pounding and the light was way too bright.

"You are in the ER of King's Medical Center." Nolan informed his patient since he had no idea where he was.

"Can you tell me your name?" The doc asked while he typed in some things on the tablet.

"Williams… Danny." Danny swallowed a few times. His throat was dry.

"How are you feeling? Headache? Nauseas? Shortness of breath?" Nolan already filled in the possible discomforts himself.

"All of it. Head's pounding and I'm damn tired." Danny had closed his eyes again. It took a lot of energy to answer the questions and his head was protesting against any movement.

"That is to be expected. Let me give you something for it and you can rest for awhile, I'll be back later." The doc nodded, not that Danny noticed since he had his eyes closed. Nolan was about to walk away. When Steve went after him.

"Doc? You sure he's okay?" Steve didn't want Danny to hear it, so he asked softly. He wasn't really comforted by the results of the tests.

"I'm not going to lie about the fact that I asked and did the same examination before he dozed off and it hasn't improved. But considering his circumstances he is doing well."

"He didn't know where he was?" Steve kindly remembered the doctor about the fact that it did not look well to him at all.

"It's common to have trouble remembering things. Lets wait and see shall we?" The doc really didn't see where Steve was coming from. He acted like it was the most normal thing.

"Steve?" Danny asked for his friend. He wasn't completely sure if he had been around or not, but he thought he heard him.

Steve looked with an aneurysm face at the doctor before he returned to the side of his friend's bed. "Hey, I'm here. Just rest okay, I'm not going anywhere." Steve placed his hand back on Danny's shoulder to reassure him, but Steve himself was everything except reassured.

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Danny had dozed off again, so Steve returned to the waiting area. Kono went to see Danny on her own; she didn't mind that he was resting. Chin and Lou brought Steve up to speed on the case. They had made some progress on the possible bomber, but that's all. Chin and Lou would go back to HQ and go over the evidence. Jerry was on his way as well. Steve would stay; there was no doubt about it. Kono would stay as well incase Steve or Danny needed anything.

Steve had been at the hospital for a few hours now. He went back to Danny while Kono went to grab the both of them something to eat. They still hadn't moved Danny to a recovery room. The privacy curtains were closed though. Steve had found a chair and pulled it next to the gurney. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, gazing at his friend who seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

He couldn't help himself other then to blame him for what happened. Not that he could've known that the building was about to explode for a second time, but still. He had been the one who wanted to get inside, while Danny explicit had asked him no to go in. His instinct had placed the both of them in that building and for what. They had directed a few people outside, but they weren't able to get Frank out alive. Plus Steve was sitting next to his best friend, who had a brain injury because he had to get inside. He knew better than to blame himself for it, but looking at Danny lying on that gurney made him feel guilty about it.

Steve slumped back into the chair. His back and neck still hurt from the explosion. He really could use a nap, so he tried to close his eyes for a bit. He listened to the rhythm of the heart monitor to distract himself from all the noise in the ER. He drifted away as the rhythm became more rapidly. It alarmed Steve immediately; he shot a look at his friend and jumped up from the chair. Danny had pulled the nasal cannula out and was trying to get off the gurney.

"Hey partner," Steve gently pushed him back. Danny looked totally lost. "Do you know where you are?" Steve tried to bring some sense back to him.

"I h-hve t-to..." Danny slurred. He had trouble speaking the words out straight.

"You don't have to do anything Danny." Steve panic a bit. Danny didn't make any sense to him, he couldn't speak straight and Steve didn't know what he was allowed to do.

"Grace. I-I have to... Grac-ce." Danny got up again. Steve pushed him firmly back. "Danny, you're in the hospital. I'll pick her up all right, but you're not going anywhere." He held Danny down by his shoulders. Danny didn't seem to have any pain in his ribs or something.

"I-I hav-ve t-to." Danny kept fighting against Steve's grip. He looked scared and completely lost around him. He didn't seem to notice that Steve was with him.

"Danny, listen to me! Hey, it's me!" Steve tried to make eye contact, while he continued to keep Danny didn't know what Danny was talking about. He couldn't get through, so Steve quickly pushed the alarm button, because he was out of his league to do anything about it.

"Where's. I-I have to get." Danny's eyes fluttered as he tried to make himself clear to whomever he was speaking to.

"I'll get her. You hearing me?" Steve held on to Danny tight while he promised to pick up Grace at home.

"Stev-" Danny tried to say his best friends name as he realized he was with him. All of a sudden his eyes rolled back into his head, while his muscles tensed and he started to convulse. His head tilted backwards, and was jerking along with the rest of his body. His eyes were fluttering, showing the whites of his eyes.

"Danny?" Steve watched in complete shock as Danny's body continued to seize. He had been in the same situation once before and that was when Danny got exposed to sarin. He remembered that the doctor back then rolled him over on his side. So Steve reacted quickly and rolled Danny onto his right side. The curtain got pulled open and Doctor Nolan immediately rushed to Danny. The nurse who had check on Steve was behind Nolan, same as the intern. He didn't remember their names though.

"Detective?" The doctor took over Steve's spot and tried to make contact with Danny. Steve stepped backwards as he watched his friend continue to seize, while his own heart was pounding in his chest.

"He's seizing! Sats are dropping! Push two of Ativan. Doctor Kalani start bagging him and someone page Doctor Reid again!"

 **-H50-**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.**

 **A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7.** **I apologize in advance for any mistakes...** **Thank you for the kind reviews, the favs and follows.** **You guys are awesome! Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you for your kind words!**

 **I really enjoyed writing this story, so I hope you'll enjoy it as well while reading it! Love to hear what you think of it! Suggestions are always welcome; you guys read it after all :) Mahalo for your support.**

 **Chapter Four**

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"He's seizing. Sats are dropping. Push two of Ativan. Doctor Kalani start bagging him and someone page Doctor Reid again!" Nolan shouted to the people around him. The intern placed an ambu bag over Danny's mouth and nose and started to squeeze it.

A younger woman, with dark brown hair tied up in a knot, wearing scrubs and a lab coat came jogging towards them. "I'm here, Thom. What do we have?" She asked with a British accent. Steve hadn't seen her before.

"Small epidural hematoma. He just started seizing. Pushed two of Ativan." Nolan informed her. Steve assumed she must be the neurosurgeon. Out of the blue Danny's body relaxed and went completely limp. Steve let out a deep and relieved breath.

"Scans please?" The female doctor asked. The intern Doctor Kalani handed the CT scans quickly, while he continued to squeeze the ambu bag. The doctor studied the scans. "All right I need some lido and a drill, STAT!" She ordered the nurse. Steve followed everything with big eyes and a furrowed brow. He probably shouldn't be in here, but he would stay until someone asked him to leave.

"You're going to do it here?" Nolan asked perplexed.

"Yes, there's no time. I have to relieve the pressure." The doctor took off her lab coat, grabbed a pair of gloves and put them on. The nurse had returned with all kinds of stuff. A few things looked familiar to Steve, but most things he had never seen before.

"Fifteen blade please. I need a catheter ready to drain as soon as I penetrate the Dura." The doctor gradually took the scalpel handed by the nurse. She made the incision as Doctor Nolan held on to Danny. Who was still on his right side. She placed the scalpel back on the tray as the nurse handed her the drill. Steve took a deep breath as the doctor turned on the drill. His stomach turned around at the thought that she was about to drill a hole into Danny's skull.

She started to drill into the skull. "Almost," It sounded higher and faster than a normal drill. A shiver ran down Steve's spine. It sounded gruesome to him. Sure he had heard that sound before, but never to make a hole into someone's skull. "Okay. Tube quickly," the doctor reacted rapidly.

"All right, lets move." Both doctor's pulled up the racks on the side of the gurney. Doctor Nolan and Kalani rushed through the swinging door and disappeared out of Steve's sight.

"Commander? Hi, I'm Leslie Reid the Neurosurgeon." The female doctor with the British accent introduced herself to Steve. He hadn't even noticed she stayed behind. Her expression was compassionated and her voice soft.

"Doc, what's going on? Is he going to be okay?" Steve quickly gave her a handshake; he had honestly no idea what all just happened. It all was just a blur to him.

"Doctor Nolan is prepping him for surgery. Commander, you're listed as Detective Williams his emergency contact, do you know who his next of kin is?" Doctor Reid asked with a comforting smile and her big blue eyes. She was the opposite of Doctor Nolan. Steve didn't like the guy, so he was glad she came on board.

"I'm his next of kin." Fear gripped Steve's heart. Why would she ask for Danny's next of kin? He was going to make it right?

"In that case I need you to sign off on the surgery and let me inform you on the risks, complications and the possible outcome." Reid said it with complete serene. She gestured they should go over to the nurses station.

"Sure whatever he needs." Steve would do anything for his partner. He followed the doctor. She grabbed a file from the desk and scribbled something on the paper before she returned her attention back to Steve.

"Detective Williams is undergoing a surgery to remove the bleed in his brain. I already drilled one hole into his skull to relieve some pressure, but during the procedure I'll drill a second hole into his skull. It will allow us to drain the blood from the epidural. After we drain the blood out, a small tube will be temporarily left inside the burr holes for a few days to help drain away any blood and debris from the site of the surgery. Using drainage tubes reduces the risk of complications, but there are still some possibilities." The doctor explained patiently the whole procedure to Steve.

"Like what?" Steve looked with his brow furrowed and his eyes darting about in concern at the doctor.

"Complications include, post-op infection, excessive bleeding or a stroke. Symptoms that occurred before surgery may persist after surgery," she spoke calmly with Steve. Her British accent seemed to make the conversation less hard. Doctor Reid tucked her left hand into her lab coat pocket as she handed the form to Steve, so he could sign off on the procedure. Steve quickly signed the form with a hand that barely seemed his own.

"What? Like permanent damage?" Steve looked up from the form. His stomach turned around as his heart began to pump faster and his breathing quickened. He felt a gut-wreaking fear set in. Real fear, the kind that left no room to think or feel anything else.

"It can take a while to recover from a Epidural Hematoma. There may indeed be some permanent damage, such as problems with certain brain functions that affect talking and understanding others. Changes to his moods and concentration, or memory problems, seizures and weakness in his limbs. The length of time it takes to completely recover from a Epidural Hematoma will vary from person to person." Reid added as she took the form back from Steve.

Steve swallowed hard. "When will you know?" He stared with his eyes widely at the doc. None of this was sitting well with him. It all seemed to get worse. He had wished a lot of times that Danny would've shut up, but the thought that he could have trouble talking from now on made his whole world fall apart. He never indended for any of this to happen.

Doctor Reid could see a lot of guilt in Steve's eyes, so she reassured him by placing her hand on his bicep. "I'll find you as soon as I'm done with the surgery." She could see that Steve cared deeply about his friend and she admired that. She nodded firmly and went through the same swinging door as Danny did earlier.

Steve stayed behind. His muscles were tense. He couldn't move, like there was a gun pointed to his head. Even then he would be thinking of ways to escape from the gunpoint. This time, all he could do was breathe. All the noise that had been there before seemed to have disappeared. He didn't remember being this uncertain, not once in his entire life. And it was just the beginning.

His mind was numb with shock. Danny couldn't die. Danny couldn't leave his kids behind like that. He had to see them grow up. Grace couldn't live without her dad. Charlie hadn't spent enough time with his father yet and Steve needed his best friend. Closing his eyes, he sank into a chair, trying to suppress any of those awful thoughts. Danny was going to be fine.

His right hand rubbed the back of his neck. He looked down at his feet. Steve let out a deep breath and looked back up. Kono was standing in the hallway, looking confused at the empty ER room. She walked towards Steve.

"Steve, where's Danny?" She had a white plastic bag with take-outs in her hands. She gazed at Steve with her big puppy dog brown eyes.

Steve didn't answer right away. "They took him up to surgery." Kono took place next to him as she held onto the plastic bag. Steve had to clear his throat before he could tell the whole conversation he just had with the doctor.

After he explained everything he placed his hand on Kono's shoulder and pulled her in a hug while they remained seated. "He's going to pull through."

"I know," Kono gave her best smile, but it wasn't anything more than a very weak grin. "Do we need to call Rachel?" Kono reminded Steve of Danny's ex wife.

Steve hadn't thought about any of that. Suddenly the conversation he had with Danny popped back up in his head. "Grace," Steve ran his hand through his hair. He suddenly remembered Danny's rant about Grace going to a party. That's why he needed to go so badly. He was supposed to pick her up tonight.

"I have to pick up Grace," he probably reacted just as confused as Danny did to him as he just did to Kono. She looked puzzled at him. "Danny was supposed to pick her up from a party on the other side of the island."

"I'm sure HPD can pick her up." Kono offered as possibility.

"No, I have to go myself. I promised." Steve stood up and was ready to go, but at the same time it didn't feel okay to leave Danny behind.

"You go. I'll stay here and call Chin and Lou. They'll come too. He isn't going to be alone." Kono had stood up as well and looked Steve in the eye. He should go without any doubt.

"Thank you, Kono." Steve started to jog towards the exit. He turned around and added. "Call me immediately if something changes."

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 **FRIDAY 10:35 PM PALI HIGHWAY – HONOLULU – O'AHU.**

Steve was speeding on the highway to the other side of the island. He was glad that HPD had dropped the Camaro off at the hospital. He was satisfied with his new truck, but the Camaro was a lot faster to handle on the highway and such. Steve had absolutely no idea where Grace would be and he didn't want to worry her until it was absolutely necessary, so he called Rachel. She had to be notified anyway.

Steve could hear her concerns on the other side of the line. Steve wasn't completely sure on what terms they were since the whole Charlie thing, but Steve could tell she still cared about him. It wasn't a total surprise to him though, Danny was the father of her children and she had been married to him. Steve hated to make such phone calls, but she was in her rights to know, even if it was just for Grace and Charlie. Gosh he had no idea how to tell Grace about this. All he knew was that he had a knot in his stomach about it.

He had been in the same position before and he would never get used to it. Danny was family, like a brother to him. At first he hadn't completely understood why Danny had moved all the way from New Jersey to Hawaii, cause he hated the place so much, but the minute he saw him together with Grace he understood. She was his life and breath and would do anything for the little girl. Right now, Steve would do the same. Grace was like his own, he would go through trouble for the girl. Only if it was just to help Danny with it. He would do anything for him.

After the plane crash the doctor had told him that Danny donated his liver to him. He was too damn tired to understand it at first and even later he didn't get Danny. Sure he would do the same for him if he needed it, he actually had given it a lot of thought. He had spent a lot of nights awake wondering what had gotten into Danny to voluntarily under go surgery. Up until now he hadn't fully realized what he would do to keep his partner alive. There had been a few times Danny got hurt or where Steve had gotten a disconcerting phone call, but they all seemed noting compared to this. Danny might not ever be the same again.

Steve had been driving to the other side of the island in some kind of daze. He couldn't recall how he got where he was right now and if he had past some red lights. All he had been doing was thinking about the last few hours. Twenty-four minutes later Steve pulled over in front of the address that Rachel had given him. He looked through the window at the house. The party was still on. The kids inside were having probably one of the best nights of their lives so far and Steve was about to ruin it for one of them. The one he never wanted to see get hurt or in trouble.

He ran his hands over his face and let out an anxious sigh. There was no way to prepare for what was about to happen and he had no idea how Grace would react. Steve could see the front door open and Grace walked down the front porch. Steve gathered up the courage and he needed a lot.

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"Grace, that's your dad's car isn't it." Jake, the boy how threw the party, looked outside and pointed to the Camaro that was standing in front of the house.

"Argh seriously? Does he ever listen to me?" Grace rolled with her eyes out of complete irritation. "He wasn't supposed to be here for another hour." Grace opened the front door to go outside. She was about to be real pissed off on her father. _Could he just for once not overreact?_ She had already made the deal that he was allowed to pick her up, but that wasn't enough for him. No, he had to embarrass her in front of her friends. She marched down the front porch.

"Gracie!" Steve got out of the car and walked towards her. Grace was wearing a cute white top with high waist jeans and low white converse. She had curled her hair a bit. She definitely put some time in to her look.

"Uncle Steve?" Grace was completely surprised to see Steve. There could only be one reason why her uncle was here instead of her dad. "What are you doing here? Where's Danno?" Grace asked suspicious as she glanced sideways at Steve.

Steve just blurted it out, there wasn't another way to tell her, well there was, but the outcome wouldn't change. "Grace, I'm sorry, but your dad, he's in the hospital-" Grace cut him off. "Is he all right?" She looked vulnerable at Steve with her big brown eyes.

"We don't know. He's is surgery, so that's why I'm here to bring you home." Steve stood straight in front of her. He put his hand on Grace's arm to calm her.

"I'm not going home, Uncle Steve. I'm coming with you." Grace demanded. She needed to see her dad. Just up until two minutes ago she was about to ignore her father for a week, if it weren't any longer. She was really pissed off and for what. She should have known better, her dad would've kept his promise. He probably had shown up right on time, but he would've waited until she came outside by herself.

"Grace, it can take all night." Steve didn't like the idea of taking Grace back to the hospital with him. He knew she had been there when Danny and himself were under going the transplantation, but he could barely handle himself this time. Let alone Grace too.

"I don't care. I need to be there." Her eyes were darting around in concern.

"I'll take you home and I promise I will call you and pick you up once Danno's out of surgery and awake." Steve didn't want to scare her or take any risks. Normally Danny would be happy to see his little girl, but this time Steve wasn't sure how he would come out of it. He didn't know what the possible damage was going to look like. Danny might not be able to speak straight or act like the dad she knew.

"You promise?" Grace whispered. Tears welled up in her eyes. Steve placed his hand on her cheek. His heart broke, as he looked in her eyes.

"I do," Steve had a hard time not to tear up himself, so he pulled Grace into a hug. "Come here kiddo. I love you and I'm really sorry. Your dad is a tough one, you know that, right?"

"Uhu. Thanks for coming and get me, Uncle Steve." Grace wiped the few tears that had rolled down off her cheek.

"You? Anytime, Grace!" Steve winked at her and gave her a small smile, trying to ease the situation.

 **-H50-**

 **A/N: Love to know what you think about it. Is it too short, too long, enough whump and bromance so far? You guys are reading it, so as the writer and would love to improve.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.**

 **A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7.** **I apologize in advance for any mistakes...** **Thank you for the kind reviews, the favs and follows.** **You guys rock! Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you for your kind words!** **Mahalo for your support.**

 **I hope you'll enjoy reading it! Love to hear what you think of it!**

 **Chapter Five**

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Steve brought Grace back to Rachel's house. She asked a bunch of questions and Steve had tried to answer them truthfully, but he left out his own concerns. After dropping her off he had rushed back to the hospital. He wanted to be there when Danny came out of surgery. The team had been sitting in the waiting area. Jerry had come along too. There wasn't much they could do about the case, since it was all most midnight. It had to wait until tomorrow morning.

Steve sat down for over thirty minutes. He was done waiting; so he went to get some coffee and stretch his legs. The team continued to wait while they discussed some details of the case. When Steve hadn't returned within twenty minutes Lou went to look for him. He didn't have to search that hard. Steve was standing in the hallway. He leaned against the coffee machine with his right hand, arm stretched, his head down and eyes closed. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his left hand. The coffee was poring automatically and slowly into the plastic cup.

"There's no one to blame except the bomber and you know that, right?" Lou interfered Steve's thoughts as he walked up to the machine. He could figuratively see the heavy weight leaning on Steve's shoulders.

"Yeah, I know that." Steve looked up at Lou and acted like there was nothing bothering him.

"Then why are you standing like you are blaming yourself for it?" Lou leaned against the wall with his arms across his chest.

"I don't know. I should've acted differently, could've made different decisions." Steve shrugged his shoulder and looked down again.

"This isn't on you, man." Lou confirmed once more with a high-pitched voice.

"What if it will affect his speech, or worse? What if he's not able to work again?" Steve could feel the guilt eating on the inside. It had hit him like a sledgehammer. "Would it still not be on me?" Steve looked remorseful at Lou, daring him not to disagree with him.

"He's my goddamn partner, Lou!" Steve's voice toughened. "I made him my partner! I made him have my back!" Rage rushed through his body, like a flame that got exposed to a pool of fuel. Not that he was angry with Lou or Danny. Steve was angry with himself.

"Come on man, you ain't thinking straight right now." Lou got in front of Steve. He ignored Steve's burst. He knew he wasn't talking to him. There was no anger in his eyes, all there was, was guilt.

"Am I not?" Steve asked ashamed and filled with regret about his fall out to Lou. His eyes burned as everything that happened the past hours struck him. He blinked the burning tears away before they could roll down.

"No. Danny easily could've gone back to HPD, but he didn't. He stayed. He stayed because he wanted to. He wanted to be your partner and man let me tell you. I've worked with a lot of people, but never ever have I met partners that worked so well together. You ain't much with out each other and you both know that." Lou looked with raised brows at Steve. He meant every word he said.

"Even if he did wanted to stay, I shouldn't have argued with him outside that office, I should've listened to him." Steve clenched his jaw to fight back some more tears. He didn't want to show his weakness, it wasn't something he did. But once in a while, it all could become too much and he would let his guard down.

"It's your damn job. You couldn't have known that there would be a second bomb. I know, the man can get under your skin, the both of you can. You both have, well lets say, a unique manner of communication and you both have strong opinions. And if there comes a day that you guys will ever agree on something, I'll quit my job, cause that should never happen," Lou protested. He made himself very clear with his Chicago attitude. "Right now Danny's kicking some ass in that OR and he's expecting from you to do the same." He pointed his finger towards Steve. He wasn't done with his speech though.

"The minute he'll get the stink of that you have been blaming yourself about it, he'll tell you other wise and believe me that is going to be the last thing he wants to do." Lou finished. The hallway hadn't been crowded, but the two of them arguing had drawn some attention from some nurses.

Steve had gone quiet. He was thinking about what Lou just told him. Deep down he knew he was right. "You're right."

"I know that I'm right, now are you just going to stand there or are you going to ask me how I want my coffee?" Lou mocked as he sarcastically frowned.

"You want a cup?" Steve couldn't help himself other than to grin. Lou was a good friend and Steve was glad he was around. He took the plastic cup out of the machine. It had already been filled. Steve offered it to Lou.

"I thought you were never going to ask me, man." Lou patted Steve on his shoulder as he accepted the cup of coffee.

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 **FRIDAY 11:40 PM - WAITING AREA KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

Lou and Steve had returned with coffee for the rest of the team. The hospital had gone quiet. All people that had been waiting in the waiting area had been updated or picked up by doctors. The waiting room was dreary. End tables stacked with outdated and tattered magazines. You could feel the tension in the room. It was the room where people would sit after they received terrible news or had to sit with the uncertainty if their loved one would be okay. On this night there was no one else waiting, except for the members of Five-0.

Kono had fallen asleep. She leaned with her head on her cousin's shoulder. Chin sat slumped in the chair, trying not to move and wake up Kono. Jerry had allowed himself access to the hospital's network and continued to dig into the case, trying to find any clue on the bomber. Lou had been flipping through the same golf magazine the entire time. Not that he actually had been reading one single article. Steve had been standing and pacing back and forth compulsively through the room. After an hour or so he finally sat down.

The procedure shouldn't take that long. Every time a white lab coat entered the room Steve had jumped up, but each time it wasn't Doctor Reid. He kept checking his phone in case Grace had texted or called him. Not that he could've missed it, but just in case. He was about to go to the bathroom to refresh himself as Dr. Reid finally walked into the waiting area.

"Commander, Detective Williams is out of surgery. I'm happy to say that there were no complications during the surgery." She didn't need to ask Steve aside; because there was nobody in the room that wasn't like family to her patient.

Steve sighed relieved, as did everybody else. For a tiny moment he just thought it was going to be okay. Then he remembered that it all just started. "What about the brain damage?"

"We don't know yet. Every brain is different, so we'll have to wait till he wakes up to see if there's any permanent brain damage." She could tell that Steve wasn't very comfortable with the whole wait and see thing.

"I've prescribed anti-seizure medication to treat or prevent another seizure. Just because he had one before the surgery doesn't necessarily mean that the seizures will become permanent, but it's a possible complication of head injuries. With the medication we'll be able to control it." The doctor continued. It still didn't reassure Steve though.

"Commander, I can tell you don't like to wait, but patience is the key to coping with brain injuries. Adults will experience the majority of their recovery during the first six months and it may continue to smaller, more gradual improvements for up to two years after the hematoma. There's a good chance that he'll recover." She was slightly optimistic about Danny's condition and that was probably what they needed to hear as well.

"We'll be there for him no matter what." Kono said out loud what everyone else was thinking.

"Let me bring you to him." Doctor Reid could've asked a nurse to do so, but she wanted to check on her patient once more. They weren't supposed to go up there, that late or with this amount of people, but they needed to see their friend with their own eyes. Everyone stood up and followed her to the elevator. Steve quickly sent Grace a text to say Danny was out of surgery. He didn't want to wake her up by calling her in the middle of the night. He wasn't about to pick her up though, not until he had seen Danny awake for himself.

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 **FRIDAY 11:49 PM - ICU KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

The moment Doctor Reid had asked to come with her Steve had felt relieved. They were finally allowed to see him and the doctor sounded optimistic about Danny's condition. It was like he finally could breathe again. But that was just upon they entered Danny's room. The room was a muted color, simply washed out tones of gray. There was nothing lively to it.

The bed that Danny was lying on stood near the window. The bed head was raised a bit. Just as the room, there was nothing lively about him either. The most colorful thing in the whole room was the blue hospital gown he was wearing. It was just depressing to look at him. The top of his head was completely wrapped with white bandages. Steve had made fun of Danny's haircut plenty of times, but now that it was covered up he didn't even look like his friend.

Danny looked exhausted and pale. His skin tone matched the white bandage around his head. His cheeks seemed to have collapsed. He had dark circles beneath his eyes and a nasal cannula was strapped under his nose. A dark stained bruise peeked just from underneath the bandage on the left side. It must be from the nasty cut on his forehead.

Multiple lines and wires were attached to Danny. An IV line was inserted in the crook of his right arm. Another tube was coming from underneath the bandages; it was the drain that the doctor had told Steve about. A couple of wires were attached to Danny's chest and connected with the heart monitor, standing on the right side of his bed. It was beeping steadily.

"I don't think you guys are leaving any time soon, but Detective Williams will need his rest, so why don't you take shifts. One of you can sit here while the others are getting some proper rest." Reid suggested. Danny was stable and they all looked like they could use some rest. Nobody responded. She knew it looked serious, but there was nothing other than to wait. She tried to enlighten the mood. "Plus let me tell you those chairs are awful." She gave them her best smile she had under such circumstances.

"Thanks doc, when do you think he'll wake up?" Steve appreciated her concerns, but he was going nowhere. He grabbed a chair and pulled it next to the bed.

"Not for at least another hour." The doc informed him and since nobody was going to listen to her suggestion she left them alone with their friend.

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 **SATURDAY 01:28 AM - ICU KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.**

As the minutes passed with no sign of Danny waking, everyone had fallen asleep in this little nook right outside the ICU, which faced Danny's room. They were sloughed in their chairs in impossible positions. Except for Steve, he was still awake and inside Danny's room. He leaned against the wall, arms folded. He hadn't taken his eyes of Danny since he had walked into the room. Almost two hours had past since, but Danny still hadn't woken up. Doctor Reid entered the room quietly. She got a bit spooked by Steve standing there all by himself against the wall.

"Why hasn't he woken up yet?" Steve whispered impatiently not to disturb the silence. The doctor walked over to Danny.

"Lets see what I can do about it," she took a small light out of her lab coat.

"Detective, can you hear me?" The doctor asked while she lifted up Danny's eyelids one by one and shed shortly the light into his eyes. Steve was surprised by her sudden examination, so he walked up to the bed as well and leaned on the end of it. Locking his eyes on his partner. Kono, Lou and Chin had woken up by all the movement and were standing in the room, looking impatiently for Danny to wake up.

Danny inhaled deeply and let out a small grunt. "Can you blink if you can understand me?" The doctor stimulated, as it might be hard for him to answer.

Danny coughed and clenched his left side. He swallowed and licked his lips. "I'd rather just answer, if-if that's okay?" He mumbled weak. As his voice filled the room, Steve sighed and a relieved grin appeared on his face. He crossed his arm in front of his chest, while he looked satisfied at his friend.

"That would work for me," Doctor Reid couldn't help herself other than to smile as well. The relief was visible with every single one of them. "Do you know what happened?" She asked optimistic.

"I'm guessing it involved a N-Neanderthal animal somehow?" Danny grimaced as his head continued to pound. He was still a bit drowsy, but other than that his speech was just fine.

"I'm sorry a what-" The doc looked up from her patient to the rest of the team. It didn't make any sense to her, but she hoped it did to them.

"He's s-standing with crossed arms... having aneurysm face." Danny tried to open his eyes to see if he was right or not, but the bright light kept him from doing so. He could tell Steve was somewhere around even without looking.

"That would be me and you're right, I should've listen to you." Steve stared down to Danny's feet under the covers.

"That's definitely a first one." Danny winced while he forced himself to open his eyes this time. He looked around and his brow furrowed. The doctor noticed his confusion.

"Detective you're in the hospital. You two were in an explosion together. Do you remember?" She tried to feed him a little information, but not too much. She wanted to know if he remembered or not.

"Did they harvest another organ for you or what?" Danny let out a small moan as he carefully shifted. He wrapped his hand around his chest. His ribs were on fire. With every breath a sharp pain rushed through his chest.

"No, I didn't need one this time. I'm fine, thanks for asking." Steve rolled his eyes. Danny was back to being himself.

"All right gentlemen, lets take it easy for now." The doc interrupted the men. "Detective the explosion caused a small bleed in your brain. We drained it. Dr. Kalani will be in charge of your post-op care. I'll be back in an hour to give you another neuro check." She explained quickly before Danny would doze off again.

"Sounds like f-fun to me." Danny stammered as his eyes fluttered and closed.

"All you have to do for now is rest and please, try to do so." Doctor Reid looked warningly from Danny to Steve. Not that Danny noticed because he already drifted back to sleep.

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They all were very comforted by Danny's reaction when he had woken up hours ago. He seemed to be doing okay, considering what Steve had prepared himself for. Steve had finally allowed himself to sleep for a couple of hours. He had just woken up himself as two baby blue eyes scanned the room around him.

"Hey, buddy." Steve reached for Danny's right arm. Danny's eyes peered shortly at Steve. He let his hand rest on Danny's forearm.

"Hey." Danny groaned softly. His hand went up to his nose to the point between his eyebrows. He grimaced with his eyes closed. The headache was clearly there.

"Kono and Chin just left. Lou is getting some coffee, he'll be back in a few minutes." Steve said in case Danny wondered. He didn't respond to Steve, but Steve continued anyway. He rather saw Danny awake than asleep, so he made some more small talk. "I called your parents and sisters, I thought they had the right to know."

"What about my brother?" Danny asked weak and without opening his eyes.

"What?" Steve's heart skipped a beat as he took his hand off Danny in his reflex. He leaned in. He hadn't heard that right did he?

"Matty, you called my brother?" Danny slowly opened his eyes as his brow furrowed confused. He blinked a few times and his breathing quickened. He winced, as the brightness of the room was too much to handle. His head felt like someone was banging on it. He let out a painful grunt.

"Hey, why won't you just rest okay? Just rest." Steve placed his hand back on Danny's arm, while Danny closed his eyes again and drifted off.

 **-H50-**

 **A/N: I know, a little cliffhanger, but chapter six will be uploaded in a few days.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.**

 **A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7.** **I apologize in advance for any mistakes, medical, grammar or spelling related... Is there anyone interested in being a Beta reader for me? I would love to collaborate.**

 **Thank you for the reviews, the favs and follows.** **You guys rock! Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you for your kind words!** **Mahalo for your support. I'm doing the best I can.**

 **Chapter Six**

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Steve waited for Danny to doze off before he left the room. He had asked a nurse to page Doctor Reid. Lou hadn't returned yet, so Steve paced through the corridor waiting for the doctor to show up. It was not that he couldn't tell Danny about his brother, he just froze in the moment Danny had asked for him. He had never brought up his brother ever again. He hadn't said a single word about Matthew, not even when Steve got him out of prison in Colombia. Steve was having deep thoughts when Doctor Reid walked up on him.

"Commander? You asked for me?" She carried a tablet with her.

"Doc, he uh…" Steve scratched the back of his head. "He just asked for his brother?"

"Did you contact his family for him or if you want, I can make the call?" The doctor was a bit caught off guard by the fact that Steve seemed to ask her to make the call. She would do it, no doubt about it, but Steve seemed like a solid and loyal guy who would rather make the call himself.

"His brother died almost two years ago," Steve dropped it like a bomb. Leslie raised her eyebrows out of astonishment. "And before that he hadn't seen or heard of him for a long time." Steve placed his hands on his hips and leaned a bit forward. Waiting till the doc would come up with a logical explanation.

"Ah okay, well uh memory loss is common with a brain injury." She tucked her hand into her lab coat pocket while she was sharing her first thoughts. "But going back two years is a bit unlikely."

"He just asked me, twice. He seemed okay the first time he woke up, right? Considering what you warned me for." Steve wasn't sure if he asked for confirmation or that he just needed someone to tell him he didn't have to worry.

"Maybe it's just the anaesthesia wearing off, let's go back inside. I'll do another neuro exam, okay?" She tried to calm the taller man in front of her. She reacted optimistic, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there might be some brain damage after all. Doctor Reid took the lead and walked in first. Steve followed her into Danny's room. They expected to find a sleeping man, but he opened his eyes as the door opened.

"Detective you're awake I see. I'm Doctor Leslie Reid; I don't think I've properly introduced myself. Are you having trouble sleeping?" She reached out to give Danny a hand, while she pointed out the fact that Danny was awake.

"The head is killing me." Danny shook the doctor's hand. It took more effort to lift his arm than it normally would.

"I'll give you a higher dose of your pain meds. Let me do a quick exam in the meantime." The doc unlocked the tablet to adjust Danny's chart.

"Great," Danny sighed, letting the doc know he wasn't really up for it. The doctor placed the tablet on the nightstand next to Danny's bed.

"Can you squeeze my hands?" Reid held both hands in front of Danny to squeeze in. Danny managed to squeeze shortly. His left arm dropped back on the bed before he realized.

"Motor function is intact," she smiled reassuring. "Now follow the light please," Reid took a small light out of her lab coat pocket and shed the light in Danny's eyes and moved from right to left and back.

"Excellent," the doctor was satisfied with the results.

"Can you tell me about your family?" She grabbed the tablet again and updated the previous results.

"What about them?" Danny asked a bit irritated. He already had trouble dealing with the light let alone getting a flashlight shed right into his eyes.

"Parents? Any brothers or sisters?" Reid looked up from the tablet. She didn't want to draw the attention too much, so she acted like she was busy with his chart.

"Parents live back in Jersey, like my sisters. My brother… he's?" Danny looked confused up to Steve. His eyes were darting. He had to think deep.

"He's dead, right?" Danny asked confirming, realizing that he just asked Steve to call his dead brother. "He's dead." Danny looked ashamed away to his feet.

"Yes. I'm sorry, buddy." Steve swallowed the lump in his throat. It was hard to see that Danny sort of had to go through the process again.

"No. No I'm sorry I asked. My-my head's a bit cloudy you know." Danny cleared his throat and took a deep breath. Which he wished he hadn't done. He had broken his ribs before and every time it seemed to feel worse than the last time.

"I'm sorry to hear. Are you married, Detective? Or have any children?" The doctor looked sincere at her patient. She peeked at Steve; he was a lot more relaxed now that Danny seemed to remember the death of his brother.

"I have. A daughter," Danny closed his eyes to breathe through the pain. A line appeared between Steve's brows as Danny didn't mention Charlie. It could be possible he didn't remember Rachel telling him about Charlie. It wasn't that long ago. Danny grunted as he tried to push himself up a bit, he failed. "I got a son too." Danny added, to Steve's relieve.

"Good." The doctor placed the stethoscope on Danny's chest to listen to his heart and lungs. Since he had visibly pain in his chest. His breathing was a bit shallow, so she kept the nasal cannula in place for now.

"Steve, you might want to offer her a job?" Danny tried again to sit up, but when he lifted his head off his pillow the room started to spin and he felt like he had been on a boat for days.

"And why would that be exactly?" Steve leaned on the end of the bed. He had no clue on where Danny was going with this.

"She's a natural in interrogating people." The pain was throbbing violently around his skull sending waves of dull nausea. Danny tried to breathe through them.

"It's part of my job, Detective. Wanting to know how my patients feel and see if there are any improvements." Reid noticed the color that drained from Danny's face from all the movement and speaking. "You did well. The meds will kick in soon and if there's anything you need just push the button, okay?" She slung the stethoscope back around her neck and adjusted the medication pump next to his bed.

"Thank you, Doc." Steve thanked her instead of Danny. Danny was completely exhausted and wiped out by the conversation. Before she left the doc closed the blinds and killed the light inside the entire room. It would be less straining for Danny this way. They left him alone to rest.

"How did he do?" Steve walked after the doctor outside the room.

"It takes time to recover from such a brain injury. His left squeeze was a bit weaker than his right and the severity of his headache concerns me. It is possible that he'll continue to have these cluster headaches. Permanently. Don't get me wrong, I'm optimistic, we just shouldn't lose the bigger picture," she gave Steve another reassuring smile and nodded before she walked away. "I'll be back later to check on him."

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Steve picked up Grace on Saturday morning since he had promised her he would bring her when Danny had been awake. Only he had slept through the whole visit. Not that she minded. She had been a bit frightened when she saw Danny for the first time with his head all wrapped in bandages, but Steve reassured her. Even though after the whole Matthew misunderstanding Steve had some hope that it was going to be okay.

The rest of the day Danny had been sleeping as well. He had woken up just two times, but after a two-minute conversation he would doze off again. Everybody insisted that Steve should leave the hospital for the night. They all offered to stay instead, but Steve wanted to stay himself. The chairs weren't that bad to sleep in, so he stayed while the team left.

Steve was asleep now for a couple of hours. He sat sloughed in the chair and his feet were up on the end of Danny's bed. His head rested on his right shoulder and his arms were tight across his chest. Steve wasn't in a deep sleep, because when Danny slowly shifted in the bed Steve's eyes popped open and looked up to his friend.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" Steve asked Danny who was lying on his back and staring to the ceiling.

"It's finally dark enough to keep my eyes open." Danny turned his head towards Steve and looked at his friend who seemed to be comfortable in the chair and with his feet still up on the bed.

"That bad? I'm sorry man, it will be easier with time." Steve noticed Danny's disapproving gaze at his feet, so he took them off the bed. He leaned forward, resting his hand on the bedrail.

"What time is it?" Danny searched the room for a clock or anything that would provide him with the time. He was completely clueless on what day or time it was.

"Uh… it's 3:28 in the morning." Steve shot a quick look at his watch.

Danny could feel something pull on top of his head as shifted onto his right side. It was the drain; the tube must be stuck behind something. "You know when they can take the damn thing out?" Danny tried to find the tube, so it wouldn't pull anymore.

"The doc said with a couple of days, but I'll ask." Steve noticed the struggle, so he carefully released the tube from behind the pillow.

"Thanks. You know you don't have to be here, right?" Danny placed his hand on the back of his neck as he glanced thankful at Steve.

"I know, but I want to and besides you would do the same for me." Steve shrugged his shoulders, while a grin on his face appeared. The headache seemed not to be present or at least not as severe as it had been. "Do you want me to pick up Grace and Charlie in morning?"

"Depends on how I look." Danny wondered.

"How'd you look? You asking me for fashion advise?" Steve raised his eyebrows sarcastic.

"Never mind, I should've known better than to ask someone who wears cargo pants on a daily basis." Danny waved it away as he dropped the hand, that was behind his neck, back on the bed.

"I wear shorts and jeans too. They're just very efficient on the job, but if you're still wondering, you look just fine." Steve snorted. He was glad Danny was acting more like himself again.

"I know that look you have on your face Steve. You've had it for the past days, like someone died. I didn't okay, but you know that, so either you're still worried, or I look like crap. Which I can tell I probably do, because you look like shit yourself by only sitting here." Danny had noticed the remorseful look on Steve. Plus he looked exhausted. Steve didn't have an answer to that.

Steve wasn't going to admit he felt guilty, so he let his head down and stared at his own feet. He changed the subject back to his initial question. "Grace has been here, but you slept through the whole visit. She's texting me non-stop. I'm sure she'll be pleased to see you awake. I don't know about Charlie though, he's probably too little to understand why you look like this."

Danny turned back on his back, readjusted the cannula and stared at the ceiling again. There was a brief silence before he answered. "Then don't pick them up."

"I'm sorry man. You, okay?" Steve could tell Danny missed his kids more than ever and it hurt him that he wouldn't see them soon enough.

"No, uh- I'm not."

 **-H50-**

 **A/N:** **I hope you enjoyed reading it. Love to hear what you think so far!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.**

 **A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7.** **I apologize in advance for any mistakes, medical, grammar or spelling related... Is there anyone interested in being a Beta reader for me? I would love to collaborate.**

 **Thank you for the reviews, the favs and follows.** **You guys are awesome! Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you for your kind words!** **Mahalo for your support.**

 **Chapter Seven**

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 **TUESDAY 1:05 PM - RECOVERY WARD KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.**

The past two days Danny had been sleeping during the day and at night he would wake up. Still confused and he couldn't get rid of the terrible headache. Steve had stayed the nights while the rest of the team visited him during the day.

The doc had taken the drain out in the morning. It wasn't a major procedure, so after taking the drain out they moved him to a recovery ward. The rest of the morning Danny had been sleeping. He woke up just a little after 1 pm. It was for the first time in days he didn't have the usual unbearable headache. Sure he had a headache, but he could open his eyes without squinting and frowning. Danny looked around the room. He couldn't see clearly, so he blinked a few times until his sight was normal again. The team was having a deep conversation, because they didn't even notice that he was awake. Danny listened to the conversation for a while. He might get some answer about what really happened.

He had been trying to remember things, but nothing had come back yet. The doctor told him he was in an explosion, but he couldn't recall even being in one, let alone what day it happened. The last thing he could think of was that they were working on a murder investigation. After that it, he had no clue. Not until he had woken up with a terrible headache. Danny had been listening for a few minutes now; only nothing seemed to come back.

He wasn't going to admit that he couldn't remember a thing. It would come back, he was sure of it. Danny decided he should join the conversation and ask a few things. "Who did what?" Everyone turned around and stared at him for a minute. Kono was sitting on the end of the bed near Danny's feet, while Chin was standing in the room with a tablet in his hand. Steve and Lou were sitting in chairs near the window. Chinese food containers were everywhere. They clearly had been here for a while already.

"Hey brah, how are you feeling?" Chin walked over to Danny's side and placed his hand on Danny's shoulder.

"Like somebody banged my head against a wall." Danny scrunched up his face and clutched his side when he pushed himself up, so he would be sitting properly. He wasn't about to change the subject so he asked again. "Who did what?" Danny pulled the nasal cannula out of his nose. After the procedure to take the drain out the doc had secured it back under his nose. He really hated the thing and he actually didn't need it.

"We are not sure yet, but we know Forbes was the target." Kono informed after nobody else said anything. She was glad Danny was awake and asking around. He was definitely feeling and looking better.

"Forbes?" Danny looked with question marks at the team. The name did not sound familiar to him.

"Frank, the dead CEO." Steve referred to the man that they had been trying to get out of the building before it exploded. Steve didn't think it was odd that Danny asked who the man was. Steve had only used his first name back in the building, so he couldn't have known the last name.

"Any suspects?" Either Frank or Forbes didn't ring a bell, so Danny assumed that when Steve said Frank was dead that they were investigating his death.

"Danny, you don't have to do this right now." Lou interfered.

"We'll take care of it." Kono agreed with Lou. Danny shouldn't have to deal with this. He should rest.

"Just tell me what you got." Danny ignored Kono and Lou and looked to Chin and Steve.

"All right," Steve let out a deep breath. Letting Danny know that he wasn't completely agreeing with it, but he knew that if it had been him in that bed, he would've want to help as well. "The building was rigged with a second bomb, so we figured it was intentional. The first bomb was set up to do minimal damage to the building and the damage was mostly on the second floor around the conference room. It turned out that Frank had a meeting in that exact conference room around the time of the first bomb. That's why he had that nasty cut on his leg. Only it wouldn't explain why he would go back to his own office instead of getting out of the building."

"Maybe he was trying to hide something?" Danny suggested because he had no idea what Steve was talking about.

"Yeah, we did some digging and apparently years ago there was some accident. They lost a few employees, but it wasn't the company's fault." Lou shared their findings.

"What about money?" Danny tried to come up with what ever popped up in his head, because nothing sounded familiar so far.

"Jerry thought so too, since he was on his laptop when Steve found him. Only the laptop got destroyed with the second explosion. However Jerry was able to find an email that was sent to Frank five minutes after the first explosion." Chin showed Danny the email on the tablet. Danny tried to read, only the letters started to dance on the tablet. He rubbed in his eyes with his left hand and blinked until the letters became words again.

"You okay?" Steve noticed the rub and the rapid blinking and it took longer than usual to read the short email.

"It doesn't make any sense. Frank got an email saying that there was a second explosion and still he didn't try to get out?" Danny ignored Steve's question. He took a closer look at the email and spotted the firm's logo. It said Forbes Constructions plus the address. He knew the location downtown, but he couldn't remember that he went there. Why would he and Steve be there in the first place? It didn't make any sense to him, but at least they we're giving him some answers.

"That's the weird part," Kono responded with her eyebrows raised.

"What uh, what about an IP address? Someone had to send the email right?" Danny wasn't very good with technology, but over the years he picked up some things.

"It was sent from the company's IP address and Forbes emailed it to himself. Someone must have hacked into his account because there's no second email address." Chin took the tablet back from Danny and swiped between some files.

"It might be the fact that you uh you all suffer from sleep deprivation, but the email was sent from inside the building, right? The chance that the person who sent it worked there is pretty high." Danny pointed out to his friends that they all looked exhausted.

"Yeah, we checked all the employees." Steve rolled his eyes, while he tried to suppress a grin.

"Okay, then it might be the two holes in my skull, but what about, uh contractors?" Danny mocked as the door opened and Doctor Kalani entered the room. He noticed that he interrupted something important. "I'll come back later." He turned around and closed the door behind him.

"Or interns?" Danny joked at the fact the Kalani was an intern.

"Chin, do you have a list of people who are not registered as employees, but somehow work for the company? Or people who are not on their payroll?" Steve asked as he patiently waited for Chin to search his tablet.

"Here you go," Chin handed the tablet to Steve.

Steve scrolled down the list. Halfway the list he stopped. "Kinney. That name sounds familiar."

"Wasn't that name on the list of employees that died during the accident years ago?" Kono remarked as she grabbed her own tablet and started to search for the accident report. "Here according to the report, Martin Kinney, died on the job as result of an accident that happened in 1998."

"One Isaac Kinney started his internship a year ago at Forbes Construction." Steve stated as he read the information of the tablet.

"His son?" Chin linked the two together.

"That's not a coincidence." Lou raised his eyebrows as they finally came up with a solid lead.

"All right, let's bring Isaac in." Steve grabbed the empty food containers, so he could throw them away outside. He hesitated because he didn't want to run off and leave Danny behind.

"I get it. If it were up to me, I would go back to HQ and interrogate this guy. I would go either way before my head explodes and you'll be scraping pieces of brain tissue off the wall." Danny joked sarcastically, but it was everything except a joke. The color on his cheeks had vanished and he looked exhausted again.

"Now that's disgusting." Kono chuckled as she shook her head with disapproval.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, brah." Chin said as he fist bumped with Danny.

"Yeah me too, Danny. It's good to have you back in the game." Kono gave Danny a quick hug.

"Get some rest okay? You earned it." Lou patted Danny on his shoulder. Steve signed that they could go and he would be right behind them. They got the hint and left Danny's room.

"Do you want me to get the doc for you?" Steve offered as he had been watching Danny for the last minutes. He had been sleeping for two days and all of a sudden he was up and talking like nothing ever happened. Steve didn't buy it for a minute.

"No. I just need to sleep it off. So go ahead, go back to work, go do something useful. I'm not going anywhere." Danny waved away Steve's concern. He held on to his head with his hand, which confirmed Steve's thoughts. The headache was back.

"You up for a visitor later today?" Steve leaned on the end of the bed. Five minutes ago he thought he would surprise Danny by picking up Grace later today, but seeing him like this, he'd better ask if he wanted it or not.

"Depends on who the visitor is." Danny closed his eyes to ride through the pounding headache. He wondered if it would ever stop.

"Grace. She really wants to see you. She misses you." Steve said it with compassion. He felt sorry for the both of them. They didn't get to spend all their time together and with situations like this the time got even more limited.

"She actually said that to you?" Danny's eyes widened. "Because the rebellious teenager that she turned into hasn't said such thing in a while." Danny sounded astonished.

"Well… from the amount of texts she sends me I can tell that she misses you." Grace had sent Steve a lot of texts the past days. He didn't mind it, he was happy to be there for her.

"Ah you can tell, well if you want her as your daughter, I'm sure we can arrange the adoption papers." Danny teased.

"You are her father, Danny, and she misses you."

"I'm sure I'll be reminded of that next time I ask her to clean her own room or do the dishes." Danny used his sarcastic tone as he pinched the bridge of his nose and he closed his eyes.

"I'll pick her up after school." Steve grinned. Despite the headache Danny was still arguing like he did before and that satisfied Steve.

 **-H50-**

 **Shorter chapter than usual, but that's why I uploaded chapter six earlier, to make it up. Happy Five-0 Friday! I'm too excited for the episode of tonight. Anyone else?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the Characters.**

 **A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7.** **I apologize in advance for any mistakes, medical, grammar or spelling related... Is there anyone interested in being a Beta reader for me? I would love to collaborate.**

 **Thank you for the reviews, the favs and follows.** **You guys are awesome! Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you for your kind words!** **Mahalo for your support.**

 **Chapter Eight**

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Danny slept for less than an hour after the team left to bring Isaac Kinney in, but he was definitely feeling better after his nap. The headache had eased again, which was a good thing. Knowing that with some rest the throbbing ache would stop. Since they had removed the drain that morning, the doctor had allowed Danny to get out of bed. He had really looked forward to getting out of the damn bed! However his ribs protested against any movement.

Around 3 pm Danny took place in the chair near the window. He had finally showered and it felt really good. His head wasn't allowed to get wet or anything, but it still felt really nice and fresh. They had taken off the bandages and slightly covered the incisions with minimal dressings. Danny was able to catch a glance at the stitched up incisions. He'd had the same haircut for ages, so he was glad that Doctor Reid had carefully shaved the spots where she needed to make the incisions. They were almost invisible if he would comb his hair back like he always did. Besides he'd rather be alive than save his precious haircut, but still he was very attached to his look.

The cut where he cracked his head during the fall would be visible though. It started in his hair and went down on his forehead. The surrounding skin was still a bit bruised from the blow. The cut was stitched up as well. They had done it precisely, so hopefully the scar would fade with time. Danny didn't know what looked more ridiculous, his head all wrapped up with bandages or the few dressings that made his hair all goofy and wild like he had been in the wind all day. Once he'd be home he would dig up a snapback cap from Jersey, because he was not going to walk around with his hair like that. Not in public at least. Steve had brought him some clothes from home, so Danny didn't have to wear the blue hospital gown any longer. The gray T-shirt and navy blue sweat shorts were a lot more comfortable.

It wouldn't be much longer before Steve would bring Grace along for a visit. Danny actually felt a bit tired by all the overextension. He had been in bed for four days and his body had certainly weakened. He wasn't even strong enough to make it to the bathroom all by himself. He was glad he was able to sit in the chair though. It would be better for Grace to see him sitting in a chair rather than lying in bed.

Danny was on his phone, going through old messages to find more clues to the case, when a nurse entered his room. She walked in holding a small plastic cup with a couple of pills and a cup of water.

"These are for you, Detective." The nurse handed Danny his meds and the water.

"Can I wait a little longer? My daughter is on her way for a visit and I'd rather not doze off before she arrives." Danny waited before he would take the meds. He didn't want to disappoint Grace. She would be there soon, so he would manage without his pain meds.

"Your medication will wear off soon, but I'll delay your pain meds for thirty minutes. Just take the anticonvulsant medication. I'm sure you don't want to have another seizure." The nurse said as she adjusted the pain relief pump.

"No, I do not." Danny placed the pill on his tongue and took a big gulp of water to swallow. He couldn't even remember he had one in the first place. If Doctor Reid hadn't told him about it, he would have never known.

"I'll come back later, just promise that you'll push the alarm button if you're in any kind of pain." She took back the empty cups.

"I will," Danny promised. Not that he would admit that he might be in pain if Grace was around. He just had to push himself through thirty minutes and with Grace there to distract him it shouldn't be that hard.

"Do you want to get back in bed?" She asked as she changed Danny's IV bag that was hanging on the pole that was standing next to the chair.

"No, I'm fine over here, thank you." Danny looked gratefully and smiled at her.

"Ask for help if you want to get back okay? Don't push yourself." The nurse shot him a warningly look before she left Danny alone again. The previous days everyone had closed the door behind themselves, but since Danny was doing better they left it open somehow.

Steve and Grace came in five minutes after the nurse left. "Would you look at that?" Steve pointed with his hands open at Danny and placed them on his hips in awe. He was really surprised to find Danny sitting in the chair.

"Danno!" Grace exclaimed as she walked in behind Steve. She was still wearing her school uniform, so it was obvious Steve had picked her up right away.

"Hey babe." Danny tried to get up and give her a hug, but Grace bent so she could give him a hug while he remained seated.

"I'll leave you guys for a bit." Watching them, Steve thought Danny could use some time alone with Grace.

"Thanks for picking her up, buddy." Danny thanked his friend as Steve stepped back into the hallway, he jerked his head saying that he shouldn't mention it and left the door slightly ajar.

"You okay, monkey?" Danny asked when he noticed the anxious look on Grace's face.

"I'm fine dad. Really," Grace reassured as she dropped her backpack on the floor and sat down on the arm of the chair Danny was sitting in.

"I'm sorry you couldn't visit sooner." Danny grabbed Grace's hand and fiddled with it as he looked down to the floor. He was sure that she had been afraid when she got the news that he was in the hospital. Again. And that was the last thing he wanted for her.

"No I get it, you're going to be okay, right?" Grace stared fearfully down at Danny with her big brown eyes.

"I'm okay, Grace." Danny placed a kiss on her hand as he smiled and looked up at his daughter. _God he missed her. Why did she have to grow up so fast?_

"How's your little brother doing?" Danny missed his little boy as well. He didn't think that Charlie would fully understand what happened. He probably didn't even know Danny was in the hospital and he was actually grateful for that.

"He's fine. He said he misses you. Oh I promised him I would give you this." Grace picked up her backpack from the floor and took out a handmade card. "We made you a card."

"You did?" It hit Danny like a rock that Charlie said such thing. He didn't want his son to miss his dad. Danny accepted the card. "Look at that. Let me guess? You did the artistic part and Charlie wrote the text?" Danny held up the card, on the front a there was a childish drawing and the perfectly written text said: 'Get Well Soon Danno.'

"Yeah, how did you figure?" Grace snorted as she rolled her eyes.

"Wise ass." Danny placed the card on the side table next to his chair. He did had received multiple cards the past days, but this was definitely the best one. "So what have you been up to?"

Grace told him a bunch of stuff about school and friends. Danny listened attentively, but after a few minutes his head started to hammer again. Grace didn't notice and continued to talk about something, only Danny couldn't hear what she said.

"I'm sorry, what'd you say?" Danny rubbed his temple, trying to get rid of the headache.

"I don't mind if you want to rest. Uncle Steve said you might be tired." Grace had said right after she noticed her dad's lack of energy.

"Sure he did. I'm not tired monkey. What time is it?" Danny wanted to know when his meds would kick in. He needed a time frame to knowing how long he had to hold himself together.

"Uh it's 3:28 pm." Grace glanced on her phone as she went on with her story. "You know the funny thing was, when Uncle Steve came to pick me up, they thought he was my dad." Grace chuckled.

"What?" Danny pushed himself carefully out of his chair. He held tightly on to the IV pole. He wasn't supposed to do this on his own, but the bed wasn't that far and he really should get back to it, before the headache would got worse.

"At Jake's party." Grace tried to help her dad in some way. He shuffled his way back to bed, but she didn't exactly know what to do.

"You were at his party?" Danny stopped abruptly and turned to Grace. "Jake the sixteen-year-old guy you know? His party?" Furious, he stared at his daughter. "I told you not to go, Grace!" Danny snapped, raising his voice. He couldn't believe she actually went. He explicitly told her not to go.

"We made a deal!" Grace sputtered, as her eyes were about to pop out of her head from disbelief. She had no clue why her dad would act like this. They made a deal; she could go, if Danny could pick her up at a decent time.

"Did your mother say you could go?" Danny barked. His head was protesting totally against the yelling and screaming, but something inside him just snapped.

"She said I could go, just like y-" Danny cut her off. Rage was rushing through his body. "Oh she did? You can stop lying to me Grace because I know for a fact that your mother wouldn't have agreed on letting you go to such party! If you think you can act out because I'm in here, you're wrong!" Danny yelled, waving strongly with his left hand as his right hand almost crushed the IV pole out of anger.

"Dad, I'm not lying!" Grace tried to defend herself, but she couldn't get through to him.

"Stop! Just stop, okay?" Danny grasped his head in pain. "You're grounded! No more parties or hanging out with your friends! Do I have to call your mother or can I trust you that you'll tell her yourself?" Danny was no longer speaking with simply a raised voice; he actually yelled at his daughter."

"No dad that's no-" Grace shrieked as the door swung open.

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Steve was at the end of the hallway when he heard two familiar voices yelling at each other. He instinctively knew there was something wrong, because Danny would never yell at Grace. Sure he could have had his moments and raised his voice so every now and then, but Steve had never heard him yell at her. So Steve ran back and barged back into the room. He was completely confused as he looked at the two of them. Danny was standing near his bed wobbling, which worried Steve a bit, because he probably should be sitting in the chair or lying in bed and Grace was standing in front of him. She looked up abruptly at Steve. It looked more like a big argument than that there was something wrong. "Guys, what's going on?"

"Tell him, Uncle Steve." Grace shouted.

"Grace!" Danny argued back.

"Hey calm down, the both of you," Steve demanded raising his voice to over come Danny's and Grace's. He signaled with his left hand that they should stop while his right hand held on to his gun in his holster.

"Tell him that you picked me up from the party. The one that he said that I could go to." Grace had lowered her voice. She hoped that Steve could get through to her father because she couldn't.

"Grace, just stop!" Danny shouted as it all became too much. His head was about to explode and with two people arguing with him, he just couldn't handle it anymore. The headache was making him nauseous.

"Danny!" Steve bellowed to his friend who was totally out of line to react like this.

"There's a zero chance that I would've let her go Steve, you know that!" Danny protested loudly.

"Danny, listen to me -"

"Oh you knew?" Danny's face contorted with anger. Like Steve had betrayed him. Danny felt himself stagger. His muscles started to tremble. He didn't have the strength anymore to stand any longer with only the flimsy support of the IV pole. His legs weakened and his knees sagged. He grabbed the end of the bed tightly, so he wouldn't fall down on the ground.

"Hey easy, come on sit down." Steve grabbed Danny by his arm, pulled him back up and held him on firmly. He supported Danny back to the bed. Danny looked ashen.

"I did know and so did you. You did let her go to the party, okay? The party was Friday night. We had been arguing about it all day, but then the explosion happened and you were rushed into surgery, so I picked her up."

"Stop. It's fine. I'm tired. I'm sorry." Danny hissed in pain and clenched his ribs with his left hand as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He waited a few seconds before he laid back down in bed.

Steve placed the IV pole next to the bed as he shot a look at Grace who was standing helplessly in the room. "Alright, Grace why won't we leave your dad so he can rest. We'll visit another time, huh?"

"You don't have to go. It's just my head." Danny rested his head against the pillow. He didn't mean to fight with Grace and he definitely didn't want to scare her away.

"It's okay, Danno. I can come another time." Grace picked up her backpack and slung it on her shoulder.

"No, I just didn't remember, I'm sorry." Danny held onto his head as he rubbed his forehead with his fingers.

"What do you mean, you don't remember?" Steve turned around and asked worriedly.

"I don't know, I just…" Danny lifted his shoulders in a half shrug and held up his palms. "Never mind."

"Danno, you're bleeding!" Grace pointed towards the rapidly growing crimson stain that was coming through the bandage on Danny's head.

 **-H50-**

 **A/N:** **Love to hear what you think of it! Suggestions are always welcome; you guys read it after all :)**


	9. Chapter 9 Part l

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the Characters.**

 **A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7. I'd like to thank julieb716 for becoming my beta reader for this story. I really appreciate that you offered to help me. I know you said my gratitude means more than credits, but you deserve it anyway. Thank you for your input and corrections. I really love the collaboration. If there are still some grammar of spellings issues left, they're all mine.**

 **Thank you for the reviews, the favs and follows.** **You guys rock! Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you for your kind words!** **Mahalo for your support.**

 **Chapter Nine Part I**

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"Danno, you're bleeding." Grace pointed towards the crimson stain that enlarged through the bandage on Danny's head. Steve noticed the bloodstain on Danny's forehead as well. He hoped that Danny had just pulled some stitches, but until the doctor confirmed it he would still worry.

Steve needed to get Grace out of the room. "Grace, go ask for Doctor Reid at the nurse's station? Please?" Grace nodded and ran out of the room.

"She can stay." Danny tried to get back up to stop his daughter from leaving. "It's just, argh..." Danny grunted in pain and fell back into his pillow.

"Danny, what's the matter?" Steve's eyes scanned his friend.

"My head. It feels like a full-blown timpani orchestra in there." He paused, not wanting to look at Steve. I didn't take my pain meds," Danny confessed.

"You didn't take your pain meds? Of course you didn't. The doctor is coming, okay?" Steve shook his head. He should have known Danny would pull a stunt like this. Doctor Reid came rushing in. She assessed Danny immediately.

"Commander, I need you to step out for a moment." She asked as she pulled the dressing off Danny's forehead.

Standing in the door opening, Grace fidgeted and stared at her father with frightened eyes. "Is he okay?"

"Grace, let's wait outside." Steve took Grace gently by her shoulder and they walked together into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

Grace sat in a chair, while Steve tried not to pace through the corridor. As a nurse went back in Steve glanced inside, curious to find out if his friend was okay. Steve turned to Grace. She hadn't said a word. She looked down at the floor, fiddling with her skirt.

'You know your dad can overreact sometimes, right?" Steve sat down in the chair next to Grace.

"He had no idea what I was talking about Uncle Steve." Grace looked up at Steve, fear crossing her face.

"I know." Steve placed his hand on the back of her head. Sadness clouded her features. "C'm here," Steve said softly as he pulled her into a tight hug.

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Ten minutes later Doctor Reid came out of Danny's room. "Everything is fine. He tore a couple of stitches, but I already closed them back up. Just to be sure I'm taking him up for a CT scan. After that I suggest he rest for the remainder of the day." She gave the both of them a reassuring smile.

"You must be Grace?" Reid looked at the still worried girl in front of her. Grace nodded. "Your father is fine okay, don't worry. He actually asked for you, so why won't you go back in and I'll be back in five to take him up for the CT scan." Grace stood up slowly, looking for reassurance from Steve, not wanting to go in all by herself.

"It's okay, I'll be right behind you Gracie. I just need to speak with the Doctor, okay?" Steve jerked his head towards Danny's room. Steve waited for Grace to go in and close the door behind her.

Making sure that Grace couldn't hear him, he addressed Dr. Reid. "Doc, he just yelled at his daughter. I've never seen him do that." Steve shared his concerns.

"It's one of the possible complications, Commander." Doctor Reid tucked both of her hands in her lab coat pockets.

"So he'll have outburst to his kids from now on?" Steve didn't understand why the doc would be so calmly about it.

"That's possible, but it's also very possible that with time those episodes will diminish and eventually disappear altogether." She assured, but Steve wasn't that easily impressed or reassured. "If you ask me, Commander, he's been extremely lucky. He speaking, walking around and he hasn't had another seizure. The only problems that have seemed to occur are headaches, changes to his moods and some memory loss. He's perfectly capable to living with that. It could have been very different."

"He uh he had trouble reading earlier today." Steve didn't want to snitch on Danny, but he cared about him and he wanted to help him.

"I would've been worried if there weren't any problems with certain brain functions. It's only been four days. Give him time. He'll need it."

"There must be something else I can do. I just can't hang around, doing nothing." Steve solicitously placed his hands on his hip and one on his holster.

"I get that. It's hard to see someone you care about struggle, but he has to do this on his own. You can help him remember things if he doesn't. Write it down or tell him. And if he acts different than usual, you can point that out to him. He'll calm down as he realizes it," Doctor Reid explained patiently.

"Okay, I'm just worried that's all." Steve scratched the back of his head.

"I understand," the doc nodded. "I was actually planning to discharge him tomorrow morning, but considering he just pulled his stitches, I'm going to keep him a day longer. If you can find someone who can take him home and stay with him for a few days, I'll discharge him Thursday morning."

"That's great!" Steve was amazed by the good news. "I'll bring him home, no problem."

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 **THURSDAY - 11:30 AM – RECOVERY WARD KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.**

Steve had parked his truck in front of the main entrance and gone up to Danny's room on the 4th floor. He was glad Danny could go home, but he was still worried about his well being. He had already packed some stuff for himself, because he planned on staying a few days at Danny's place, whether Danny liked it or not. Steve had to work during the day, but he would stop by Danny to check on him anyway, so why not stay? Steve marched in as Doctor Reid was giving Danny some post-op instructions. Steve leaned against the wall; arms folded and listening to what the doc had to say.

"While you are recovering, it is important to take things easy and not to do too much, too soon. Make time every day to completely rest your brain from any kind of distraction, such as the radio or television. You may feel ready to return to work in a few weeks and if you do, please come back in and we'll see if you're ready or not. It's important that you follow my instructions. The better you follow them, the quicker you'll be able to get back to work." Doctor Reid handed Danny his discharge papers and a pen, so he could sign the papers.

"I got it." Danny signed the papers quickly and handed them back.

"And your medication, keep taking the recommended doses. Regarding the anti-seizure meds, we'll see in a couple of months if we can reduce them. If the headaches become more severe, try resting first instead of taking more meds."

"I got it doc. Are you planning on letting me go or not?" Danny joked.

"All right, you are officially ready to go home." The doc helped Danny to his feet. Steve was immediately at his side to offer support.

"That's what I wanted to hear, thanks doc." Danny carefully sat in the wheelchair that the doctor brought with her. It was hospital policy after all.

"Commander you're driving him home, right? Because I'm sorry, Detective, but you're not allowed to drive for another 6 weeks," Dr. Reid mentioned.

"I've not driven my own car in the last seven years; so what's six more weeks? Besides after six weeks I still won't be driving my own car," Danny said sarcastically

"He just likes to be chauffeured," Steve interjected.

"No. No, that's not true, you're a control freak," Danny stated emphatically

"Oh my, not again," Steve grunted as he rolled his eyes. "You drive the damn thing every day."

"Yes, when you're not in it. That's like 30 minutes each day." Danny was in true form, talking widely with his hands going in all directions. He was finally able to do so without pulling out the IV, since it was no longer in his arm.

"It's just six weeks." The doc tried to settle the argument. Steve let out an evil snort.

"What are you laughing at?" Danny jerked his head towards Steve.

"It's a dream. I get to drive your car and _you_ for once cannot argue about it. Those are going to be the best six weeks of my entire life." Steve sounded delighted and a broad smile appeared on his face.

"Oh I'm sure they will be, because _you_ will be paying for the gas, instead of me. Six weeks long. That-that indeed does sound like a dream, doesn't it?" Danny grinned and turned his head towards Steve.

"That's low." The smile on Steve's face disappeared instantly.

Stifling a laugh, the doctor interrupted the two men. "Remember, Detective, rest is key to your recovery. Get adequate sleep at night, and rest in the daytime when you feel tired. Ease back into your normal activities when you feel stronger. Don't participate in contact and recreational sports until you get my approval. Now please, the both of you get out of here." Doctor Reid pointed towards the door, while she shook her head to suppress the smile on her face.

 **To Be Continued…**

 **As always, love the hear what you think of it. Part ll will be uploaded tomorrow.**


	10. Chapter 10 Part ll

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the Characters.**

 **A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7. I'd like to thank julieb716 for being my beta reader for this story. Thank you for your input and corrections. You are amazing! If there are still some grammar of spellings issues left, they're all mine.**

 **Thank you for the reviews, the favs and follows. You guys are great and make it so much more fun to write! Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you for your kind words! Mahalo for your support.**

 **Chapter Ten Part II**

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 **THURSDAY – 9:17 PM – WILLIAMS RESIDENCE – MOANA - HONOLULU.**

After Steve brought Danny back home he had to go back to work. Danny didn't mind; he could use the alone time. He did some things around the house, but he mostly rested. Steve texted him a few times during the day to check up on him. Steve didn't want to call in case Danny was sleeping or anything. Steve came back to Danny's place around 8 pm. He had brought dinner with him, since Danny had barely anything left to eat in his house. They both could use a proper meal and not some days-old leftovers.

Later Danny took a shower and Steve cleaned up the kitchen. It wasn't that big of a mess so Steve sat down on the couch, feet resting on the coffee table, with a cold Longboard in his hand and watched a game. Danny dropped next to him, a bottled water in his hand since he was not allowed to drink alcohol. They watched the game together, made some jokes and argued. After 15 minutes Danny's head started to pound again. His vision became blurry and he had trouble focusing. The moving footage was just too much movement for his brain to process at the time. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the throbbing headache and clear his vision.

"Do you want me to turn it off?" Steve noticed Danny's discomfort.

"No-no you can watch. I'll go to bed, lie down for awhile, if that's okay with you?" Danny let out a small grunt and clutched his ribs as he stood up from the couch.

"Yeah, no problem, whatever you need, buddy." Steve pulled his feet off the table so Danny could make his way to his bedroom.

"Thanks, don't stay up to late okay?" Danny teased.

"You my mother or something?" Steve stared judgemental at Danny.

"Oh God no, I would've put you up for adoption if I were." Danny snorted.

"Nice, thank you. Now stop lingering and get your ass in bed." Steve smiled and gave a dismissive wave with his hand. He slouched back in the couch and put his feet back on the table.

Steve stayed up a couple more hours. He never went to bed that early; he didn't need that much sleep. He changed his gray cargo pants into some shorts and his black shirt for a navy blue T-shirt. He laid down on the couch, moving around until he found a comfortable position. He had found a spare pillow and blanket. It would have to do for a couple of nights. He had slept in worse places than this.

Steve was laying on his back with his right arm above his head when a stumbling noise woke him up. He almost rolled off the couch. For a second he was disoriented, forgetting where he was. He grabbed his phone to check the time. It was a little after 2 am. Steve looked around the room, but there was nobody there. He closed his eyes again as he heard the water running in the kitchen.

"Danny?" Steve got off the couch and walked over to the kitchen, switching the light on.

"Sorry I didn't mean to wake you up," Danny said as he turned around towards Steve. He stood near the sink with a glass of water in his hand.

"No it's fine. You okay?" Steve assessed his friend quickly. Danny was barefoot and only wearing gray shorts. A dark purple and yellow bruise was on the left side of his torso at the top of his ribs.

"I just couldn't sleep." Danny scrunched his eyes closed because of the bright light.

"Anything I can do?" Steve offered.

"No, I just took the rest of my meds, so it's fine." Danny placed the glass of water back on the kitchen counter next to the orange bottles of pills.

Steve nodded and went back to the living room, but before he left the kitchen he turned around and looked back at Danny. "Thank you."

"Thank you? Thank you for what? Waking you up in the middle of the night? What's the matter with you?" Danny sounded perplexed. He had no clue on what Steve was talking about.

"No, for giving me a part of your liver." Steve pointed towards the vertical scar on Danny's chest.

Danny placed his hand on his chest, touching the scar. "You already thanked me for my noble sacrifice and you're welcome, but this doesn't make any sense."

"What doesn't?" Steve asked suspiciously as he glanced sideways at Danny. He placed his hands on his hips.

"There's only one reason I can come up with, why you would be saying something like that. And it's because you feel guilty about all this." Danny waved to his head with his hand.

"No, I don't feel guilty." Steve crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.

"Well it's definitely bothering you, it's all over your face so," Danny stated.

Steve exhaled loudly. Danny wouldn't stop asking, so he decided to gather his courage and share his thoughts for once. "Well you know, at first I didn't get why you would undergo life threatening surgery to save me, but back in the hospital when they were prepping you for surgery, drilling a hole into your skull, man, I would've done anything to keep you around."

"And now you wished you hadn't?" Danny teased.

"No, Danny, I'm serious." Steve locked eyes with Danny; letting him know he meant what he said. "There wasn't anything I could do, but if you would've needed anything I would've given it to you the second they asked."

"Thank you, buddy." Danny opened his arms to give Steve a quick hug, which he gladly accepted. "That's good to uh to know you know, 'cause I'm sure this won't be the last time that I'll be in the hospital, knowing you."

"Thanks a lot. Now I wished you hadn't stuck around." Steve joked sarcastically.

"You're a putz, you know that, right?" Danny mocked as he made his way back to the living room. "Say something useful, tell me about the case." Danny dropped onto the couch. He sat comfortably with his left foot tucked underneath his right knee.

"It's closed. We solved it." Steve had followed Danny to the living room and dropped next to him on the couch. Steve leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

"You did? That's great. What uh what about that boy. Isaac? Was he involved?" Danny asked, curious to know what happened. He placed his arm on the backrest, so he could lean his head on his hand as he listened.

"Yeah the kid confessed. He never intended to hurt other people, just Frank. That's why he made the first bomb to create minimal damage, to get everyone out of the building. Nobody was supposed to get back in, because he knew the response time of HPD and they would've arrived after the second bomb went off and he was right, they did. Only he couldn't have known we were around the corner." Steve summed it up.

"Why did he do it?"

"Well the accident that killed his dad wasn't an accident. Frank made some budget cuts back in 1998 and because of that the building collapsed. It wasn't constructed properly and he used cheaper, inferior products. Frank covered it up, made it look like an accident." Steve reclined comfortably back into the couch.

"Why didn't he go to the police? I mean I'm sure he found something that could've proved it?" Danny asked.

"Isaac started to dig into his father's death two years ago; he found some stuff, but it wasn't any hard evidence, so he applied for an internship at Forbes to gain access to files from the inside. It's pretty spectacular what he found." Steve was impressed by the well-put together plan of the twenty-two year old young man. "I already gave my statement and filed the accident report. You have to do the same when you're feeling up to it."

"Sure, so what? He did it all out of revenge?" Danny scratched his few days old beard. He tried to divert the report thing, because he had no idea how he was going to write a report on a day he couldn't recall.

"He wanted Frank to die just the way his dad did." Steve reached for the half empty bottle of water on the coffee table, which Danny had left behind earlier that evening.

"Now _that's_ why I don't want Grace to hang out with older boys. The kid had probably good grades, model kid and then all of a sudden something in his head snaps, before you know it, he's making bombs and killing people!" Danny raked his fingers through his hair out of frustration, but carefully enough not to touch the dressings.

"Oh yeah great call. You-you are aware that Grace is a model kid and has good grades, right?" Steve raised one eyebrow and the look he gave Danny dared him to disagree.

"Your point?" Danny looked irritated with a furrowed brow and squinted his eyes at Steve.

"I'm just saying, man, before you know it she'll snap, too." Steve took a swig of water hoping Danny couldn't see the smirk on his face behind the bottle.

"All right enough. Good night, Steven." Danny put his hand up to stop Steve from getting up, as he himself stood up and walked back to his own bedroom, another headache beginning to make an untimely appearance.

 **-H50-**

 **A/N: Thank you for reading. I know it's not a very long chapter or anything, just some in-between bromance. Next chapter will be up in a few days. Lot more to come!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.**

 **CHAPTER ELEVEN**

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The first week back home was pretty hard for Danny. He didn't sleep very well during the night and remained exhausted during the day. It was like he had competed in a triathlon, so he tried to rest and sleep a lot during the day. Steve stayed that whole week. He came back after work and helped Danny with some simple tasks around the house. The rest of the team dropped by regularly as well. Steve picked up Grace on the weekend to spend some time with Danny. As much as Danny liked to see Charlie, too, he wasn't quite ready for the little guy. It would take too much energy. Plus the smallest thing could bring back a piercing headache.

He did continue to have a sore head, the incisions started to itch as they were healing. After one week Danny had to come back to the hospital so they could remove the stitches. It sure felt better to have the stitches removed. The incisions from the burr holes were barely visible. The cut on his forehead was visually present though. Danny gradually increased his physical activity as he could handle it. The doc warned him that it could take several weeks to return to his previous level of energy and strength. He felt better every day for the first two weeks, after that the progress became slower.

Danny wanted to go back to work after spending two weeks at home and Doctor Reid let him. Only she made herself clear he had to start with working half days on desk duty. Danny should be able to go back in the field within a few weeks, but right now it would be too much for him. He could resume activity as his body permitted it, but he had to avoid strenuous running. Which they both knew he would be doing, if she allowed him to go back in the field. Plus his ribs weren't fully recovered yet. It went better every day. Breathing didn't hurt that much anymore, only some unexpected movement could make him cringe again.

Steve picked him up daily. The first week back at work really took a lot out of him. At first Danny thought he could handle working a full day, but after a few hours all his energy was drained and his headache returned. Steve dropped him back off at home after a couple of hours work for the first week. The weeks after went better. Danny managed to gradually work more hours a day up to working full days. He did finally file his report and his statement. He had asked Kono for the report of the case and he basically copied it. He didn't want to tell Steve that a whole day had been erased from his memory. Doctor Reid agreed he could go back in the field after his third week back at work. Most of his problems should resolve with time, but Danny still didn't remember the day of the explosion, not even after reading the incident reports. He simply forgot a lot of easy and normal things. He also had trouble naming things and his moods changed easily. The whole team didn't say too much about it; they just gave him the time he needed.

Steve picked Danny up the morning he was going to be back in the field. Danny was allowed to drive his own car, but he hadn't done it yet. Not that Steve would let him drive anyway. When Steve arrived at Danny's place, he parked his truck on the side of the street, because they would go to work in the Camaro.

The front door was unlocked, so he opened the door and walked inside. "Danny?" Steve shouted.

"Yo! Coffee is in the kitchen!" Danny shouted back from somewhere in the house. Steve didn't see him.

"Great, you want a cup?" Steve went to the kitchen to poor himself one.

"No thanks!"

"Then why did you make it?" Steve's forehead furrowed as he grabbed a mug out of the kitchen cabinet.

Danny entered the kitchen while buttoning his stone blue button down shirt. "I appreciate you picking me up, that's all."

"They really screwed up your head didn't they?" Steve grinned as he carefully took a small sip from the hot coffee.

"I'm actually starting to think that you screwed up my head over the last years arguing with each other. Just admit you enjoy your coffee more when I am around." Danny tucked his shirt into his spruce colored trousers.

"I'm in desperate need of coffee when I'm around you. Or I can't handle the rest of the day." Steve mocked as he leaned against the kitchen counter.

"You done with the cute critique? Let's go." Danny grabbed the car keys and his badge off the kitchen counter.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Steve took another sip of his coffee. He snorted after Danny acted like he didn't know what he was talking about. Confusion crossed Danny's face. Steve lowered the mug and stared at Danny while a line appeared between his brows. Danny had really no idea what he was talking about. "You might want to take your gun with you?"

"I probably should, knowing you," Danny patted Steve on his bicep. Steve looked astounded at Danny. "Well it's not that I uh, that I needed it the past three weeks," Danny started to search quickly around the house. Steve watched Danny as he did. "Where's my gun? You know where I left my gun? Have you seen it around?" Danny asked Steve as he came back from his bedroom into the living room.

"Did you grab it already?"

"No I didn't. Otherwise I would've had it on my hip, don't you think?" Danny used his usual sarcastic tone.

"It's in the safe in your bedroom... as it always has been." Steve pointed back to the bedroom Danny just came from. It frightened him that Danny really didn't seem to remember any of that.

"Ah," Danny exclaimed and walked back to his bedroom.

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Steve and Danny were on their way to HQ. They sat in silence next to each other in the car. Steve was focused on the road. He hadn't said anything else after Danny forgot to take his gun with him. He just hoped it would be a one-time thing, but he knew better than that. Danny was carefully touching the scars on his head from the burr holes. They sometimes itched, but he didn't want to scratch, it would only make it worse. Danny looked over at Steve. He rolled his eyes.

"Your coffee is getting cold, just like the atmosphere in this car." Danny referred to the half full mug that Steve had taken with him, plus the fact that Steve hadn't said anything since they left his house. Which was almost ten minutes ago. Steve let out a big obnoxious breath.

"Could you just forget about it?" Danny said disapproving of Steve's response.

"I didn't say anything, did I?" Steve took a gulp of coffee just to ignore Danny. Only the coffee was stone cold, so he swallowed hard.

"Yes, you actually did, you uh, you blew air out of your nose. And you do that mostly when you're disagreeing with me. You find it easier to do that instead of actually speaking with me." Danny was speaking with his hands and his usual tone.

"Still I didn't actually say anything, did I?" Steve took his eyes off the road and looked at Danny.

"What is the matter with you, huh? What's bothering you? I for once would like to know." Danny was getting tired of Steve trying to dodge a conversation.

"You want to know what is bothering me? All right then, they said there might be some permanent damage. Don't deny that you have trouble remembering things Danny, because I did notice it."

"Oh so you are a doctor now?" Danny raised his voice and looked irritated back at Steve. "Because if you are, then there is something wrong, because I can't remember that you got your medical degree!"

"No, Danny, I'm not a doctor, just humor me would you? How are you feeling?" Steve jerked his head to look at him, daring him to answer his question.

"How am I feeling? Well Doctor you asked me that question for the past weeks, multiple times a day. But I'm fine!" Danny replied as he rolled his eyes.

"You see? Right there, that's what is bothering me. You are not telling me the truth!" Steve barked. He was done playing games about this.

"I'm fine right now. Do you want me to say that I feel terrible? 'Cause I do not, but actually the longer we argue about it the more severe my headache is going to be!" Danny snapped. He didn't understand why Steve had to make such a big deal out of it.

"Stop, Danny listen to me! I know for a fact that you have trouble remembering things in general. Hell, you even copied the report, because you don't recall that whole day, do you?" Steve shot Danny an accusatory look.

"What? How?" Danny stared perplexed at Steve.

"We all have a different way of saying things and the wording was different than yours, so I figured it out." Steve explained. He had known for weeks.

"What the hell, were you even planning on telling me?" Danny stared with his mouth open at Steve, waiting impatiently for an explanation.

"I need to tell you?" Steve snorted. "That's funny you know, I just thought I'd be someone you would tell if something was wrong."

"And you are, really, but there is nothing wrong, Steve! They said there could be some complications, so there's nothing wrong." Danny shrugged his shoulders.

"But it's not normal either."

"No. I uh, I don't remember the day of the explosion and it comes and goes," Danny confessed.

"What does exactly?" Steve glanced at Danny; not totally understanding what he meant by 'comes and goes'.

Danny clenched his jaw, not wanting to say it out loud. "Things I remember or not."

"Then why didn't you tell me that sooner?" Steve had lowered his voice. Danny was finally opening up to him, so he didn't need to shout any longer.

"I didn't want to worry you, and I know you. You would go all overprotective over me when I came back to work and I didn't need you to do that. Doc says it's to be expected, it just takes some time and honestly I'm feeling better every day." Danny locked his eyes on the road, not wanting to look at Steve.

"All right. Just promise me you'll tell me if there's something wrong. I can't have your back if you're not being honest with me okay?" Steve's phone rang, but he ignored it for a second, waiting what Danny had to say.

"I know that and I will." Danny promised as he scratched his eyebrow.

Steve nodded and answered the call. "McGarrett."

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 **MONDAY – 10:08 AM – PARKING GARAGE - STRAUB MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU**

Steve had parked the Camaro in front of the crime scene. A dead body had been found in the parking garage beneath Straub Medical Center. Steve lifted up the crime scene tape and both he and Danny went underneath it. CSU was already on scene, just like the M.E's office. Chin walked up to them.

"Hey guys, so the victim's name is Eden Morrison, 27 years old. She's an ER nurse here at the hospital. A coworker found her dead next to her car this morning." Both men nodded as they were updated and strolled to the car.

"Max!" Steve called out to their friend, who examined the body lying next to the car.

"What do we know?" Danny walked around and looked at the dead female. She looked young, petite, long braided brown hair and was still wearing her sea foam colored scrubs.

Max looked up from the body to the three men standing around him. He was surprised to see Danny standing there as well. "It's good to see you back in the field, Detective Williams. How's your head? Headaches I imagine?"

"I don't have one yet, Max, but I'm sure that if we continue this conversation that I'll get one. So tell me, what do we know?" Annoyed, Danny stared at Max and jammed his hands in his front pockets.

Max got the hint and continued his examination. "Forgive me. Well just the obvious. The marks around the victim's throat indicate that COD is strangulation. The depth of the ligature marks suggests the assailant was very powerful and most likely male." Max pointed out the broad dark purple line on the victim's throat.

"With strangulation we can rule out that it was intentional." Chin stated.

"Well at least not planned, the killer had to improvise." Steve agreed with Chin.

Danny sighed as he looked at the young female. "All right, what about TOD?"

"Based on this stage of rigor, I'd estimate between 10 pm and midnight." Max shared his findings.

"Anything on her?" Steve asked.

Chin handed the wallet that was bagged by CSU. "Cash is still here."

"All right, so this definitely wasn't a robbery." Steve counted the money and looked at the cards that were all still there.

"Chin what about a…" Danny's face went blank. "You know… people."

"Witnesses?" Chin guessed. Both he and Steve looked at Danny. Concern was etched on both their faces.

"Yes, thank you." Danny snapped his fingers as Chin gave him the right answer.

"Eden worked till 10:30 pm. That's when her shift ended. Three coworkers have confirmed seeing her leave the employee lounge a little after that."

"Okay, Danny and I will speak to them, see if there was something unusual. In the meantime go check the camera footage from the elevator down to the garage," Steve instructed.

"I'm on it." Chin nodded.

Steve and Danny made their way up to the ER to question some of the victim's coworkers. They still didn't say anything to each other except some speculation on the case, but neither of them brought up the conversation in the car or the incident of Danny not remembering what a witness was.

The first two witnesses hadn't much to add. They both hadn't worked the shift with Eden, they just saw her leave the hospital. The third coworker, the Chief of the ER, handed Danny a tablet with the employee record of Eden. Danny scrolled through the file. He focused on the words, but his vision blurred as he did. He stretched his arm to create some distance with the hope he could read better. He looked up from the tablet and he saw just fine. Back to the screen, the lines started to dance again. It didn't make any sense to him.

"She did act a bit different at the end of the shift. She couldn't get out of here quick enough," he informed Steve and Danny.

"Act different? Like?" Steve asked as he peered over Danny's shoulder at the tablet.

"She seemed nervous and stressed out," the man described.

Danny handed the tablet to Steve. He still couldn't make out a single word. The brightness of the tablet screen made it impossible to read. He hadn't had trouble with reading in weeks, so he had no clue why he would be having trouble now. Steve took the tablet and gave Danny a confused look.

Danny cleared his throat. "I can't read it."

 **-H50-**


	12. Chapter 12

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the Characters.**

 **A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7. Thank you julieb716 for being an awesome beta reader. Your corrections and suggestions are amazing! You did a really good job on this one! If there are still some grammar of spellings issues left, they're all mine.**

 **Chapter Twelve**

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Danny cleared his throat. "I can't read it." Steve stared perplexed, following his partner as he marched out of the ER.

"Is he all right? Did he hit his head? I-I don't mean to interfere, I just noticed the recent scar on his forehead." The Chief of the ER explained his interest; he's a doctor after all.

Steve cleared his throat; he was caught off guard with Danny's sudden statement. "Yeah, it's just something… never mind. You were saying?" Steve turned his attention back to the doctor.

"Oh yes of course. Well Eden was nervous and stressed out at the end of her shift." The doctor repeated his answer from earlier.

"Did something happen? Something unusual?" Steve focused on the man again. He hoped Danny would be fine a few minutes without him. He probably needed to blow off some steam anyway. However, it didn't mean Steve was any less concerned about him.

"No, she is, well was, mostly really relaxed. It was really nice to work with her. She loved her job. She would work every extra hour she could get. Just like last night."

"What do you mean, she wasn't supposed to work last night?" Steve inquired while he handed the tablet back to the doctor.

"No. She covered last minute for a sick coworker."

"Okay. Thank you for your time." Steve shook the man's hand and walked away.

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Steve took the same exit as Danny did. It led to the stairwell and down to the garage. He had been watching Danny closely back at HQ when he was on desk duty. But Steve had to do all the fieldwork, so he couldn't be around all the time like he usually was with Danny next to his side. Sure Steve noticed some behavioral issues, but with Danny back in the field as his partner he wondered if he had missed any serious changes in the past weeks. And just five minutes ago Danny said he couldn't read and whether it was for a short moment or not, he said it out loud which he had not done before and it confirmed Steve's nightmare. Something was indeed not right.

Steve rushed down the stairs. He needed to find his partner. He pushed the door open a little more aggressively than he intended. It smacked into the wall and Danny jumped from the intrusion. He looked briefly at his partner before he leaned back against the wall. They were standing near a small dumpster and not directly in the garage. There were trashcans all around, one was kicked over and Steve was sure Danny had done that.

The door closed behind him and he looked at his partner. "Hey," Steve called out casually.

"Hey," Danny said softly. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"You need some time alone?" Steve pointed to the kicked over trashcan.

Danny kept staring at the ground. "No, I uh, I just couldn't read it clearly, because of the brightness of the screen. That's all." He shrugged his shoulders like it was nothing and it wasn't bothering him.

"Okay," Steve sighed and folded his arms. Danny was clearly not going to say anything else about it, so Steve pushed him a bit. "Did it happen before?"

Danny looked up at Steve. He knew what Steve was trying to do. "No. Well only the first week after surgery, but never again since," he confessed while he tucked his hands in his pockets.

This time Steve shrugged his shoulders. "Then what's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Steve, I couldn't read!" Danny exclaimed to Steve and waving with his hands. "It was all just a blur. What if it happens more often?"

"It might just be a one time thing. You don't know if it's going to happen more often." Steve tried to comfort Danny and also himself.

"I'm suppose to have your back and I can't have your back if I can't see!" Danny raised his voice. It was clearly bothering him.

"Don't worry about having my back, Danny." Steve locked eyes with Danny. "Just tell me if something like this happens, so I can have yours."

"That's not how things work Steve, you know that." Danny sighed and looked away.

"What's really bothering you?" Steve asked with an aneurysm face.

Danny kicked some garbage away that had fallen out of the trashcan. "It's just… like… every time I feel a little better something pushes me back down the hill, you know?"

"You know you can take all the time you need, right?" Steve reassured.

"I know that, but it's not an option, okay?" Danny snapped. He sighed the minute he said it. He didn't mean for any of this. Danny choked and tears shimmered in his eyes from frustration. "I-I just want to go back to normal and I can't go back to normal when I'm stuck behind a desk."

Steve placed his hand on Danny's shoulder. "All right, let's get back to work then." He wasn't entirely sure it was the best idea, but that's what he would've wanted and Danny needed it right now. They walked back to the crime scene. The body was wrapped in a body bag and Max was loading the stretcher into his van. Chin was talking with a couple of HPD officers.

"Chin, you find anything?" Steve asked as they approached him.

"Yes and no. According to the footage Eden was killed at 10:42 pm, as you can see here." Chin showed the camera footage on the tablet he was carrying with him. "The killer strangles her from behind and leaves the garage on the west exit. Either he knew where the cameras were or he was just lucky, because we can't see his face."

"Did you see where he came from?" Danny stated as he viewed the footage.

"Yes, he entered the garage from the stairwell and waited ten minutes till Eden came down to her car." Chin swiped through some stills he had made from the footage. "It's not a clean shot, but it looks to me that she's calling someone." Chin showed a still with Eden holding her hand to her ear, like she was making a call.

"She doesn't have her cell phone on her anymore, right?" Steve mentioned because he hadn't seen it in her personal belongings.

"No, CSU hasn't found one yet," Chin confirmed.

"What about traffic cams? Did they pick him up when he left the garage?" Steve pointed to the exit, which was right on a crowded street.

Chin nodded firmly. "They're sending the footage over to HQ."

"Okay, let's go back and see if Lou and Kono have something." Steve turned and walked back to the Camaro together with Danny.

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 **MONDAY – 12:18 AM – FIVE-0 HEADQUARTERS - HONOLULU.**

"All right what do we know about our vic?" Steve asked Kono who was standing by the smart table. He and Danny walked towards her.

"Well she lived a pretty clean life. I ran her through the system, but nothing came up. Not even a speeding ticket. She graduated top of her class from Honolulu Waldorf High School, went to John A. Burns School of Medicine, dropped out after she got pregnant with her daughter. Year later she went back to college, this time to the University of Hawaii at Manoa." Kono swiped her findings from the table surface to the screens.

"She has a daughter? Where is she now?" Danny asked concerned as the father figure inside him popped up.

"Yeah, Hailey Morrison, seven years old. The babysitter dropped her off at school this morning. Father is not around." Kono confirmed and showed them a picture of the little girl on the screen.

"Okay, what about Eden's parents? I mean Waldorf High School and School of Medicine. That sounds pretty expansive," Steve wondered.

"Her parents, Charlotte and Walter Morrison, live up in Diamond Head." Kono typed quickly on the smart table to find the address. Lou and Chin walked in behind them and gathered around the smart table as well.

"All right. Lou what'd you have?" Steve crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked up at Lou.

"CSU finished processing the car. No fingerprints found other than the vic's," Lou informed them all.

"So the killer wore gloves. Which are easy to get in a hospital." Kono raised her brows and sighed at the fact they had a dead end regarding evidence, plus an extremely large suspect pool.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean the suspect has to work there, right?" Danny leaned on the smart table.

"No, hear me out. Eden covered last night's shift for a coworker. She wasn't supposed to be at the hospital. Now if the suspect planned to kill her, he couldn't have known she would be there. So either she knew the killer very well to tell him in person she had to work another shift or she ran into him last night." Steve shared his thoughts with the team.

"Plus the fact that she has been strangled to death, which most likely indicates the killer had to improvise." Danny added to Steve's theory.

"So we're saying she just met the guy." Lou also added as his brow furrowed.

"Right." Steve sighed as he placed his hand on his holster.

"But why kill someone you just met?" Kono asked, already trying to answer her own question by thinking about every possibility.

"That I don't know. Something doesn't add up," Steve confessed. He looked hopefully at Chin. "You have anything from the traffic cams?"

"I pulled every single angle. Four cameras, but not one of them got a clear shot of his face." Chin swiped some screenshots up to the screens. A vague figure popped up, definitely male, but other than that there wasn't much to make out of the footage.

"All right. Danny and I will go see the parents. In the meantime contact the babysitter, run Eden's financials and pull her cell phone records. There has to be something," Steve commanded as he walked after Danny out of HQ.

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 **MONDAY – 12:46 AM – MR. AND MRS. MORRISON'S RESIDENCE – DIAMOND HEAD.**

"We're very sorry for your loss and we understand that this is hard, but we need to ask some questions about your daughter." Steve leaned forward. He had sat down in the chair in front of the enormous couch where the victim's parents were seated. Their house was huge, giant property around the house and with a beautiful view towards the ocean. They obviously had enough money to spend.

"No, it's okay, you can ask whatever you want." Walter Morrison wrapped his arm around his wife, who seemed just as her husband, not that shocked by the loss of their only child.

Danny stood near a side table gazing at the photo frames standing on the table. There was not one picture with their daughter in it, which to Danny felt a little off because he had pictures of his kids around his whole house, in his office and on his phone. They're his pride and joy, so it would make sense to have pictures everywhere, but the Morrison's had only pictures of themselves and elderly people, probably their parents. So he jumped the gun and asked about it. "When was the last time you spoke with your daughter?"

Walter cleared his throat and answered Danny's question stone cold. "April 2009."

"You haven't spoken to her in seven, almost eight years?" Steve sounded astonished, but he didn't want to judge anyone, maybe there was a reason for it.

"Yes." Walter Morrison looked Steve straight in the eye without blinking.

"Not a call, email or text message? Nothing?" Danny blurted out, accusation on his lips. He looked at Steve, who remained calm.

"Nothing. She moved out when she was 20. She had changed." Walter tried to explain without using too many words. He definitely didn't want to talk about it.

"She changed in what way?" Steve asked curious because from their findings Eden seemed like the perfect daughter.

"We had some expectations for her and she couldn't live up to those at one point. She acted out, dishonored us. So we asked her to leave the family property." Mr. Morrison gave a little more profundity to the situation, but he said it all judgmentally like nothing was his fault.

"You asked her to leave?" Danny was stunned. _Did these people really ask their daughter to leave their house?_

"We agreed to let her have access to her own savings, so she could take care of her self, we were still her parents," Charlotte Morrison pleaded, but before she could say anything else Danny snorted with disdain.

"Excuse me?" Walter sneered outraged. "Detective... Williams was it?"

"That's... yes Williams, you need me to write it down?" Danny smirked with a grin on his face.

Apprehensive, Walter rose up from the couch. "Is this funny to you?" He tried to stay calm, but he was not pleased with Danny's attitude.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Well your wife just said that you were still her parents... but if you uh, you had been a real parent to her, you wouldn't have kicked her out of your house, right?" Danny taunted.

"She left, Detective. We had given her everything! Her entire life! You clearly don't have children yourself otherwise you would understand." Walter intimated; nobody was allowed to speak with such an attitude to him.

Danny stepped in front of Walter Morrison. The man in his mid sixties, with salt and pepper colored hair and dressed in expensive clothing was notably taller than Danny, but that didn't stop him. "Actually I uh, I do have children. A beautiful girl and a little boy. Thanks for asking. Unfortunately for you I'm not just a parent you see," Something changed; Danny went from being sarcastic to being furious in a second. Like you would switch a light on or off.

The anger boiled inside him with each word he said. "I'm a father to my children. I'm that kind of father that loves his children no matter what happens. I'm the kind of father that will be by their sides for the rest of their life! I'm the kind of father who moved 5.000 miles to an over-populated island in the middle of nowhere to live close enough to see them 48 hours a week! I would give my life if it would save my children!" Danny stabbed his finger on Walter's chest while looking provoked at the man with a clenched jaw.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Walter yelled as he slapped Danny's finger off his chest.

"Danny." Steve spoke softly, but demanding while he pulled Danny a bit back by his bicep to create some distance between him and Walter, because this conversation could escalate quickly if he didn't do something. Steve knew Danny normally had trouble managing his rants, but ever since the head injury it seemed worse. It was like a completely different person appeared. He could get angry over nothing. Just like the fight he had with Grace. That was anything but himself. Sure the way Eden's parents reacted wasn't completely normal either, but Danny's reaction was out of line. These people just lost their only child whether they'd seen her for the past years or not. There was no excuse for Danny saying stuff like that.

Danny on the other hand had no clue that he was crossing a line here. He was nowhere near being finished with his rant. The way they were speaking about their daughter; he could not imagine that he would do anything like that. Ever. _How could they not see their daughter for seven years? How could they cut her off? Let her be on her own. How could they not speak to her?_ The whole reason he came to Hawaii was to be close with his daughter, to see her actually grow up instead of getting sent pictures every month saying how she's doing. It hit home for him and in his eyes that man accused him of not being a good parent.

"No, Steve c'mon!" Danny pulled himself out of Steve's grip. He looked at Walter with narrowed eyes showing pure disgust. "This guy, no offense, I mean you seem like a smart man, with the glasses and all, but if you really were, you would've been familiar with a dictionary. Which says that you, if you want to call yourself a parent, are supposed to be a person who raises a child, who serves or is thought of as a protector. And how you are describing _your_ 'relationship' with your daughter, that does not sound like any of that to me. I don't know whether that's dishonorable or below expectations for you. For me it's both!"

"Danny, that's enough!" Steve stepped between the two men and looked warningly at Danny.

"I want the two of you out of my house! Now!" Walter shouted over Steve's shoulder.

Steve wasn't done talking to them yet and the only way he could continue this conversation was without Danny. It didn't sit well with him, but he did it anyway.

"Danny, get some air, wait outside." Steve looked Danny directly in his eyes. With his tone and words, he made it clear he knew Danny was acting out. Danny brushed him off, scoffed something under his breath and marched to the front door. Which he, with rage, slammed shut behind him.

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Danny took deep breaths of fresh air as he went outside. He didn't know what just happened, he just snapped. Sure it wasn't normal the way they treated their daughter, but it was none of his business and he knew that deep down. Only he also knew that he wasn't the kind of man, who would, or could, keep his mouth shut about something like that. He would at least say something about it. He couldn't imagine that someone would do such a thing to their child, but then again, it was none of his damn business and somehow he made it his business.

Whether it was because his heart was in the right place when it came to family or not, this time it felt completely different to him. It happened out of nowhere, it was like someone pushed a button and it was the second time it happened. He couldn't control himself, he just snapped. Completely lost it. Danny didn't understand how it could happen. The only thing he knew for sure was that his head was pounding again.

Danny sat down on the hood of the Camaro, since Steve had the keys. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He suddenly felt the scars on top of his head. It all made sense to him; _it was because of the stupid brain injury, wasn't it?_ He could really punch himself in the face right now. He should've controlled himself. It was his job for God sakes to protect the safety of this island, but how could he if he couldn't even control himself?

Finally Steve came through the front door. Danny could see him apologize to the Morrisons once more before the door got closed and Steve marched back to the car. He ignored Danny and got into the Camaro. Danny did the same, because Steve was about to drive away without him if he didn't step in. The minute he got in, Steve drove away, still without saying a word. Danny couldn't handle the silent treatment, so he decided to start to open a conversation.

"Did they tell you something else? Something useful?"

"No." Steve kept his eyes straight on the road. He couldn't pretend that nothing happened, that was not like him. "Those people invited us into their home after we told them their only child got murdered and it doesn't matter whether they had spoken to her or not. You didn't have to say all that. They didn't do anything to you did they?"

"I know that and I'm sorry, okay? It just hit me I guess," Danny apologized.

"It was more than that, Danny." Steve shot a look at Danny, but before they could really talk about the issue, Steve's phone rang. It was Chin, so he had to pick up. "Chin, what'd you have?"

"I pulled Eden's phone records and according to those she made several phone calls to the same number, and a call connected one minute before she died."

"Do we know who she called?" Danny inquired since the call was on speaker.

"Number is registered to Doctor Helen Bennett. Apparently she is Eden's therapist. I located Eden's phone. And guess where it is? It's at Bennett's practice. I'll send you the address," Chin added.

"Her therapist? All right, we'll pay her a visit," Steve reported as he hit the button to disconnect the call.

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 **MONDAY – 01:23 PM – HELEN BENNETT'S PRACTICE - ALA MOANA - HONOLULU.**

Steve parked the Camaro in the parking lot in front of the building. They both got out, grabbed their vests out of the trunk and geared up. Steve also put his tactical gloves on, Danny did not. They jogged over to the front entrance. There were two cars parked in the parking lot as well, the lights were on inside, but no one seemed to be there.

"Steve." Danny knocked on the glass, pointing to a sign with the business hours on it and according to those they wouldn't be open till 1 pm. Something was not right. They both grabbed their guns from their holsters. Steve opened the door and went in first. It was just a serene open space with a front desk, a kitchenette, and some chairs, serving as a small waiting area. The room was all clear. Danny lowered his gun and walked to the front desk. A purse stood on the front desk and a couple of keys were tossed next to it. Someone had to be here.

Steve signaled that they should split up and clear the rooms. The office was not that big, just a few doors to check out. Steve took the first door and Danny the second. As Steve went into the room, Danny opened the other door. His heart was already beating faster than normal, probably from the adrenaline rushing through his body. It was the first time in weeks that he finally got to do some field work again. He scanned the office aiming his gun. It was a total mess inside.

The minute he turned around to check behind the door a blunt force to his abdomen took him down, sending him sprawling. His gun fell out of his hands. Danny instinctively tried to break his fall, but he couldn't stop the momentum. Before he could process what happened, his head bounced against the wall behind him, the impact stunning him. He saw a burst of white light before the darkness took over and everything went black.

 **-H50-**

 **A/N: Thanks to everyone who has faved, followed or left a review this far. Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you for your kind words!**

 **Thank you for reading! Next chapter will be up in a few days.**

 **Mahalo for your support.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the Characters.**

 **A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7. Thank you julieb716 for being an awesome beta reader. Your corrections and suggestions are amazing! If there are still some grammar of spellings issues left, they're all mine.**

 **Thanks to everyone who has faved, followed or left a review this far. Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you for your kind words!**

 **Chapter Thirteen**

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 **MONDAY – 1:23 PM – HELEN BENNETT'S PRACTICE - ALA MOANA - HONOLULU.**

Steve checked the first room. It was a storage room. Files were everywhere, opened boxes were tossed on the ground and documents littered the floor. Someone obviously went through them, looking for something in a rush. Steve was about to step over some boxes when he heard a bumping noise coming from the other room. Instantly his heart dropped and he tensed. _Danny._ He had left him alone. He had promised to have his back and he left him alone instead.

Steve ran out of the storage room and burst into the room where the noise was coming from. He zeroed in, taking aim on a woman standing with a broken table leg in her hand. She was Hawaiian, in her twenties, petite and had brown curly hair.

"Drop it! Five-0!" Steve yelled. In the corner of his eye he could see Danny lying on the ground. "Danny?" He shouted in concern, but he didn't get an answer.

The woman trembled. "Oh my I-I'm so s-sorry, please d-don't shoot." The table leg dropped with a thud on the floor as she held up her hands. Her whole body was shaking and her eyes were wet. She looked pale like she had just seen a ghost. Steve didn't lower his gun. He inspected the room; just like the storage room it was a giant mess. There had been a serious struggle. Everything was out of place. The glass desk standing in the middle of the room was shattered. Chairs had been smashed against the wall. Files were scattered on the floor. A female body was on the floor behind a side table. Her emerald eyes were wide open, her pupils dilated and a dark purple stain around her neck made it clear she had been strangled.

Steve lowered his gun and put it back in his holster. He was sure the women shaking in front of him had nothing to do with any of this. She was in complete shock. Steve kicked the table leg out of reach, just in case. Danny let out a weak grunt as he blinked a few times. Steve knelt beside him. "You okay, buddy?"

Danny lay on the ground with his head still against the wall. The world came slowly back into focus. He could hear Steve ask if he was okay, so he knew he'd better answer. "What? Yeah, I'm fine," he croaked out. He got up, almost buckling as a sharp bolt shot through his head. Steve grabbed him by his arm before he could hit the floor again. "Careful."

Danny tried to steady himself, but the world kept spinning. His head was exploding. He could feel it pound. He couldn't even feel the blow to his stomach, the pain in his head was all he could focus on.

"Here sit down." Steve guided him to the only chair that had not been smashed. Danny looked anything, but fine to him. His facial color was drained and he seemed to be in pain. Danny groaned and gently sat down. The headache made him sick to his stomach, so he took a few deep breaths to try and relieve the nauseous feeling. Steve noticed Danny's discomfort, so he loosened Danny's vest, not pulling it off though, just so he could breathe a little easier. Danny had been lucky they put their vests on, because it appeared the blow to his abdomen had been deflected somewhat by the vest. Or maybe the ache in his head surpassed any pain in his stomach.

"I'm so sorry, I-I didn't know he was a cop," the woman stammered, still looking completely terrified. Tears continued to fall down her face.

Steve tried to calm her. "It's okay. What's your name?" he asked not taking his eyes off Danny, who leaned forward, holding the back of his head.

"Luana, I-I work for Helen, I'm her a-assistant," Luana quaked. "I-I came in early, but when I arrived the d-door was already unlocked and some lights were on. Helen's car was parked in the parking space, so I assumed she was already inside. I went in, knocked on her office door, but it was slightly ajar and-and t-that's when I saw her on the floor. And then I heard someone come in, so I panicked because there-there weren't supposed to be any patients yet. I got scared, so I-I closed the door and grabbed something to protect myself. I'm so-so sorry!" she rambled in shock. She was breathing heavier and tears were streaming down her cheeks.

Steve grabbed her by her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Hey. Hey. It's fine. He's okay and so are you. Try taking a couple of deep breaths, okay?" Luana did as Steve instructed.

"That's it. You're okay now. You're safe," Steve reassured her once more.

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 **MONDAY – 1:49 PM – HELEN BENNETT'S PRACTICE – ALA MOANA - HONOLULU.**

Steve had called the ME's office and CSU, plus Lou and Chin were on their way over. Just to be sure Luana and Danny were okay, Steve requested EMT's, too. The assistant was pretty shaken up about all of it, so they checked her out and gave her something to calm down. Steve wanted to get Danny checked out as well, but Danny refused. He said he was fine. Only that wasn't true and Steve knew it. Danny had waited outside, he had tossed his vest back into the trunk and was now sitting on the curb until Chin and Lou arrived on scene. A headache had ground into his temples and he couldn't get rid of the nauseous feeling. The fresh air made it a bit more bearable though. Chin offered him a hand to help him back up on his feet, which Danny gladly accepted.

The three of them walked inside to the crime scene. Eric was processing the storage room, taking photographs and collecting evidence. Max was kneeling next to Helen's body, examining her thoroughly. They joined Steve while he explained his suspicions about how the struggle went down. Danny wasn't listening. He couldn't shake the piercing headache. It was beyond a normal headache, it was more intense, burning and throbbing like someone was continuously banging on his head. His head pounded, sharp and heavy. He stepped away from everyone; he looked down as he pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. Trying, even through the pain, to fight off the nausea.

"He okay?" Chin asked worriedly as he observed Danny from a small distance. He had noticed his lack of energy and now with him visibly in pain, Chin had good reason to be worried.

"He says he is, but I don't buy it." Steve held on to his vest, fingers tucked around the collar, as he glanced at Danny. "Just keep an eye on him, okay?" Steve mumbled, not wanting Danny to hear they were talking about him behind his back. It was with the right intentions though. Steve was concerned about him and he figured they all should keep an eye on their friend.

"You got it." Chin patted Steve on his shoulder giving him a half-smile, indicating Chin felt the same way about it.

"Max, you got anything for us?" Lou muttered at the despicable sight of the dead woman in front of him.

"Yes, indeed I do, Captain. My initial examination shows that the COD is most likely strangulation. As you can see from the bruising around her neck and her blown pupils, this supports my initial COD." Max pointed to the dark purple stain around her neck. "However these bruises tell me the victim put up quite a fight right before she died." Max lifted up one arm showing several cuts and bruises.

"A fight? How do you know?" Steve questioned, looking at Max, trying not to smile.

"Well, gentlemen, there are multiple scratches and fragments of glass across her body, but I find it hard to believe that you did not already know that according to the evidence in this room." Max was completely serious and did not notice Steve roll his eyes.

Danny had joined them again, but he wanted to get back to HQ as soon as possible, so he sped things up a bit. "Ignore him, Max. Can you tell the TOD?"

"Liver temperature indicates approximately 14 hours ago," Max informed him.

"That's what? An hour after our first vic got killed? That's not a coincidence." Steve furrowed his brows and crossed his arms over his chest, contemplating this latest development.

"Why would somebody go through all this trouble to kill the both of them?" Lou wondered out loud.

"Maybe she had some sort of secret? Something she told her therapist about?" Danny suggested while he tried to ignore his burgeoning headache.

"If Eden just met her killer, how would he know to come down here?" Chin objected because of their earlier suspicion.

"Maybe he overheard her on the phone, right before he killed her. Maybe she did have something to hide, something from her past, something she told to Dr. Bennett. What if she didn't just meet him, but instead she ran into somebody she hadn't seen for a while? On the camera footage they didn't struggle, the killer waited for her by her car, that's personal. Plus I mean she wasn't seeing a therapist over nothing, right?" Steve raised his eyebrows and pointed neglectful to the dead therapist on the floor.

"Well, I can imagine being kicked out of your own house, when you're 20, over nothing, by your own parents can be pretty traumatic." Danny groused, daring a glance at Steve, while Lou and Chin had no clue on what had happened back at the Morrison's residence.

"She got kicked out of the house?" Lou asked perplexed, his eyes wide in surprise. "Now that's just wrong, man."

"Thank you," Danny gloated as he placed his hand on Grover's arm letting him know he was glad someone was on his side.

Steve rolled his eyes as Eric walked into the room. "Eric, any signs of forced entry?"

"No, nothing like that. The only thing I know so far is that the killer tore this place apart searching for Eden Morrison's files." Eric shared eagerly, like he had found a masterpiece of evidence in a mysterious investigation.

"Why's that?" Chin asked after Eric didn't continue. He had trouble not smiling, but Eric brought such an energetic influence. Chin remembered his first years at the job, full of passion.

"I processed the storage room, which is actually more like a secret library if you ask me, because I found all kinds of session notes on a bunch of people. Only the doc didn't use her patient's real names, no she used some sort of code instead. The good thing is I found the list with code names on her laptop and guess what…"

"Eric! We are not here to play games. We are here because a woman has been killed, you can just tell us, okay?" Danny snapped impatiently. The pain in his head flared up, he winced and his brows furrowed tight with pain. They all exchanged concerned glances, but none of them looked at Danny.

Eric sighted, realizing he'd been insensitive. "I'm sorry Uncle D." He froze the moment the words slipped from his mouth. "Detective Williams," he corrected himself as he nervously gazed towards Danny. Everyone waited for a moment. "The files are missing," Eric blurted.

"They're missing?" Lou asked as confusion overtook his face.

"Yeah, like in gone, not around anymore." Eric used his Jersey tone. "And I'm thinking this nice lady got killed because the murderer wanted those files," he shared as he looked at her dead body.

"She really had something to hide and I'm guessing we'll find the answer in those files," Steve stated thoughtfully.

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 **MONDAY – 03:57 PM – FIVE-0 HEADQUARTERS - DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

Everyone had come back to HQ. They had to wait until Max finished his examination and until Eric found some solid evidence. Kono had been going over the victim's financials, Lou contacted the babysitter in the meantime and the other three tried to find something on Eden.

Danny had been writing the crime scene reports in his own office. He had taken some meds the minute he came back to HQ, but they weren't helping his headache. He searched his desk drawers for any aspirin, only to come up with an empty package. He had forgotten to replace them after he took the last one a few days back. He sighed deeply as he tossed the empty package into the trash can next to his desk. He could see Kono walk towards the smart table. He got up from his chair and went over to Kono; maybe she had some aspirin around.

"I found something; you guys wanna see this," Kono stated as she typed quickly on the smart table. Danny nodded; this wasn't the time to ask for anything, she was obviously busy. He walked to Steve's office to get him to gather around as well.

Danny opened the door to Steve's office. "Hey."

"Yo, what's up?" Steve reacted without looking up from his tablet.

"Kono has something." Danny hesitated a moment before he turned back to the tech table. He didn't want to admit he had a headache, but he'd rather admit it than to spend the rest of the day dealing with the ache. Instead of going back to Kono, Danny closed the door behind him and went over to Steve's desk. "You uh you got any aspirin?"

"Why? You okay?" Steve reacted abruptly and aneurysm face quickly appeared as he shot a worried look at Danny. He was certainly surprised with the sudden question.

"It's just a headache, people get them all the time, you know." Danny leaned on one of the chairs in front of Steve's desk. He acted calmly like nothing was going on.

"That's true, but most people didn't get their head smacked after having brain surgery a few weeks back, so maybe your head is telling you to slow down a notch?" Steve questioned Danny as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. He was positive that the blow to his head had caused the headache, but Danny asking for pain relievers - that was something else entirely. It told him that Danny was struggling with the pain and, obviously, not hiding it well.

"No… that's… well… maybe it's the air circulation in here that sucks. Maybe it's you, who knows, huh?" Danny deadpanned sarcastically, waving his hands like normal.

Steve sighed and opened his desk drawer. "Here." He handed Danny a half full package of aspirin. "You can go home you know that, right?" Steve suggested as he stood up from of his chair.

"I do know that, but there is no reason that I should." Danny shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay, I'm just saying, man." Steve held up his hands, as it was just a suggestion. He made his way to the door and held it open so Danny could walk out first.

"Thank you for your concern." Danny held up the aspirins before he tucked them into his pocket and walked out of Steve's office. Before Kono could even start, Steve's phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and gazed at the caller ID.

Steve's forehead furrowed. "It's Grace."

"What?" Danny looked surprised at Steve. Steve placed his phone on the surface table, put it on speaker and answered.

"Grace?" Steve and Danny asked in unison, but Danny continued. "What's wrong? Why are you calling Uncle Steve?" Danny asked staring in concern at Steve's phone.

"Danno? Well you aren't answering your own phone. Where are you?" Grace asked confused that her father answered the phone instead of Steve.

"I'm at work, Grace." Danny explained while he searched his pockets for his phone. It wasn't there though. "I uh I don't know where my phone is, probably in my office or something. What's the matter? You okay, babe?"

"Really? Dad you where supposed to be here like five minutes ago, now you're going to be late." Grace sounded disappointed.

"Late for for what? Grace, what are you talking about?" Danny had no idea why she would be disappointed or what she was talking about in the first place.

"You serious? The parent-teacher conference! I told you ages ago!" Grace snapped. "This is so embarrassing that you're not going to make it!"

"That's today? Right." Danny mumbled under his breath. "Okay, don't worry, I'm coming right away. I'll call the school on my way over, saying I had car trouble or that I'm wrapped up in a murder investigation, since I actually am. I'll be there in ten, okay?" He was in for the cold shoulder from his teenager for forgetting the appointment.

"Okay. Later," Grace sassed and disconnected the call.

"Later? Seriously?" Danny raised his brows and looked annoyed at Steve's phone. She just hung up on him like that? He had no time to lose though, so he rushed to his own office to grab his phone and car keys from his desk.

"Should I drive?" Steve offered, as Danny was about to leave the office. Danny hadn't driven his own car since the surgery and Steve didn't know if it was a good idea that he drive.

Danny turned around before he opened the door. "No, I'm fine, I can drive. The six weeks have passed, I'm fine, I'll be back within an hour," he reassured Steve, opened the door and jogged away.

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 **MONDAY – 04:27 PM – FIVE-0 HEADQUARTERS - DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

Kono shared her findings with the rest of the team. According to Eden's financials she received 500 dollars each month on the same date for over 5 years, which Eden transferred to a savings account in her daughter's name. The monthly deposit was untraceable though. Chin had contacted Eden's parents to ask if they gave the money to their daughter, maybe out of guilt or as some monthly support, but they said they hadn't done any such thing, confirming that they really hadn't spoken to or seen her in almost eight years.

Steve had gone back to his office when Max called him. He confirmed the COD of Dr. Bennett. He also could tell that both victims were strangled with the same tool. He found traces of leather in the horizontal furrows around their throats and he guessed the killer had used a belt. According to his measurements, the bruising was exactly the same width on both victims. Lou knocked on Steve's door jerking his head in the direction of the smart table. Steve ended the call with Max and walked out of his office. The screen showed an incoming call from the crime lab.

"Hey, Eric." Steve said as the call connected and Eric popped up on the screen.

"Hey guys! Where's Uncle D?" Eric wondered at the missing presence of his uncle.

"He's picking up Grace. What'd you have?" Steve replied as he folded his arms.

"Well I checked the doc's phone and it turns out our victim left a voicemail before she made her last call to Bennett." Eric lifted his eyebrows as he boasted, barely able to contain himself.

"All right what did it say?" Chin asked curious as to the content of the voicemail.

Eric played the audio fragment. A female and terrified voice popped up. "Helen. It's Eden. I-I really need to stop by your office. Right now. I-I know it's not usual but I'm going crazy. I need to speak with you. I'm on my way over. I really-really need to speak with you. I know who did it. It wasn't an accident, it really happened. I remember him. I saw him."

"So Eden left Doctor Bennett a voicemail saying she did remember him? What is she talking about?" Kono remarked and looked to the three men standing around her, with the same questionable expression on their faces. Steve's phone went off and interrupted them. Steve shot a look at it, seeing he had an incoming call from Grace Williams. He hit the ignore button and slid it back into his pocket. He would call her back in a minute. She probably called again for Danny.

"Did she know who was going to kill her? Was she threatened?" Chin mentioned Eden's statement that she remembered him and saw him.

"That's where you guys come in. That's out of my league," Eric stated.

"Okay, thank you Eric. Great work." Steve disconnected the call. "All right let's find out what she meant by all that, okay?" Steve walked to his own office as his phone rang again. He took it out of his pocket and stared at the screen, it was another incoming call from Grace. He answered as he opened the door to his office.

"Gracie! Danno will be with you anytime now..." Steve glanced at his watch as he noticed it had been awhile since Danny left. "He left about thirty minutes ago." He stated, confused and now growing concerned. _Danny should've been there by now. Why would she call?_

" _Uncle Steve,_ " Grace uttered. Icy paralysis gripped Steve as he heard Grace's frightened and weak voice.

"Gracie, where are you?" Steve fearfully asked as his heart began to pound in his chest.

" _We've been in an accident._ "

 **-H50-**

 **A/N: Thank you for reading! I know a cliffhanger again! Sorry for that, but I just like writing that way. :) Next chapter will be up in a few days.**

 **Mahalo for your support.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.**

 **A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7. Thank you julieb716 for being the beta reader. Your corrections and suggestions are amazing! You really worked your magic with this chapter! I'm really grateful for your help! If there are still some grammar of spellings issues left, they're all mine.**

 **Thanks to everyone who has faved, followed or left a review this far. Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you for your kind words!**

 **Chapter Fourteen**

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 **MONDAY – 04:22 PM – INSIDE THE CAMARO – MOANA HONOLULU.**

Danny had rushed to Grace's school and for what? They had spent less than ten minutes inside, before the teacher apologized and ended the conversation. At least the teacher was very pleased about Grace's behavior and grades. Danny was a bit surprised by it all, considering she acted different at home. And as Danny already predicted Grace didn't say a single word to him as they walked back to the car. For once he wasn't in the mood to talk. He had taken one aspirin before he went in, but the relief didn't last long. His head was already throbbing again. He had to drive, so he popped another before he got in the car. Grace got in as well and Danny drove away.

After five minutes he went crazy over the clicks as Grace was typing wildly on her cell phone. Danny decided to speak up with the hope she would put her phone away.

"You're not gonna say anything to me?" Danny glanced at Grace sitting on the passenger's side. Nothing but silence filled the air.

"All right, could you at least enlighten me to tell me how long you're going to ignore me?" Danny persisted while he suddenly turned right to take a short cut. He just as well could've driven straight ahead, but he was almost certain they avoid at least some traffic lights this way.

Grace jerked her head up at the sudden turn. It was not the normal route they took home, so she was a bit caught off guard by it. "You were late." Grace exclaimed angrily.

"I know that and I apologized for it. You also did hear what your teacher said about that, right?" Danny inquired to see if Grace had even been listening to him.

"Yes." Grace sighed and rolled her eyes before she stared back at her phone.

"Right, then you know he said that he totally understood the circumstances and that he was pleased to see that I made time in my busy schedule. You've got to give the man some credit after he said all those nice things about your behavior at school." Danny continued as he shot another glance at Grace, but her face was glued to her phone. He may as well have been talking to himself. She was not paying any attention. Downhearted and annoyed he put his lower lip over his upper lip to avoid saying something he'd regret.

"Don't get me wrong, Grace, I'm proud you're getting good grades and all. At least something good came out of all those years of raising you, however, I am disappointed in the way you're acting right now."

Grace finally looked up from her phone and shot a hostile glance at her father. "Really? You're disappointed?"

"Yeah, I am. I know it's hard being a teenager, but let me tell you, raising one... that's even harder and I hope you'll get what I'm saying one day, I truly hope you do." Danny raised his voice; he tried not to yell because his head was pounding worse than before. The aspirins had clearly not kicked in yet.

"Danno!"

Danny started to lose his patience. "What? Why are you so upset with me? I don't understand it!" he barked.

"There is blood coming out of your ear." Grace stared with her big brown eyes at Danny. A thin line of blood was dripping from his right ear and began to drop onto the collar of his button up shirt.

Danny touched his ear immediately and looked at his hand. The tip of his index finger was covered with blood. "It's nothing, it's fine, Grace, really don't worry it's nothing." Danny stammered as he swept the blood away. He tried to stay calm, but his heart was pounding in his chest. _How was this possible?_

"You sure?" Grace asked concerned, she could see the panic in Danny's eyes. "Watch out!" Grace screamed as two bright headlights came speeding towards the driver's side. Danny barely had time to notice the truck, let alone to dodge the high speeding vehicle before they got T-boned. The truck drove right into Danny's side of the Camaro with an ear-shattering crash.

Danny slammed onto the steering wheel before the air bags knocked both he and Grace back and sideways. Danny jerked against the restraints of his seat belt. The driver's side crumpled, the windows imploded causing shattered glass to fly around as the Camaro tumbled over and over onto the rooftop, the metal bashed over the concrete and slid against a hillock on the roadside before coming to an absolute stop.

The car had flipped so many times that Grace had become disoriented. She blinked rapidly to regain her focus. It took a moment for Grace to realize she was still alive. She was upside-down, pinned to her seat. The smell of smoke and groaning metal jogged her memory. She coughed as she pushed the airbags away. Suddenly thinking about her father, she turned her head. Her head ached and her left arm hurt, but right then she wasn't worried about herself.

Danny wasn't hanging upside down like her; he had slid with his back onto the rooftop. His seatbelt had not restrained him from being pinned to his seat. He had scrapes on his head, which were bleeding and his eyes were closed. Complete panic enveloped her. "DAD!" Grace cried out as she started to pull on Danny's right arm, trying to get a reaction. But there was none.

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 **MONDAY – 04:27 PM – FIVE-0 HEADQUARTERS - DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

" _Uncle Steve._ " Grace uttered. Icy paralysis gripped Steve as he heard Grace's frightened and weak voice.

"Gracie, where are you?" Steve quaked as his heart began to pound in his chest.

" _We've been in an accident._ " Grace sounded petrified to Steve.

"What do you mean an accident? You okay?" Steve tensed and his stomach flipped.

" _I'm okay I think, we're stuck. We need help, Uncle Steve._ " Grace sniffled. Steve's heart skipped a beat. He could hear the fear in her voice; it sent a shiver down Steve's spine.

"You stuck? You're still in the car?" Steve ran out of his office. Chin and Lou were still standing around the smart table. "Chin! Trace this call! Now!" Steve barked as he continued to hold his phone up to his ear. He focused on the call again. "Grace, stay on the phone, okay? I'm coming." Steve reassured. Chin and Lou got alarmed immediately hearing the girl's name and seeing the concerned look on Steve's face.

" _Hurry, Danno's hurt_." Grace exclaimed in pure panic.

"Can you tell how bad?" Steve asked as calmly as he could, even thought his eyes were wide with concern and fear was creeping into his voice. The thought of Danny being hurt again was like a physical blow, like he'd been punched in the stomach. "Lou! Keys!" He couldn't take his own truck, since Steve had picked up Danny that morning. Lou reacted quickly by throwing his car keys towards Steve.

" _He's stuck and he's bleeding._ "

"Send EMT and the rescue department to the location!" Steve shouted at Chin and Lou as he left HQ. Chin immediately did as Steve requested. Without knowing the details, both he and Lou knew that something was terribly wrong. Chin also knew, that Steve would want them to continue to work on the case.

Steve rushed downstairs and sprinted towards Lou's truck. He quickly got in and put his cell phone on speaker. Chin had sent the location to Steve's cell phone. He knew where it was, but it didn't make any sense. _Why Danny would take that road?_ Steve started the engine, went in reverse, turned on the sirens and tore off.

"Grace talk to me?" Steve asked worried as he could hear her move around in the car.

" _I think I can get out._ " Grace slammed her shoulder against the door, trying to open it.

"No! No, Gracie you need to stay still. There's adrenaline rushing through your body; you might not notice that you're injured." Steve warned. He didn't know if she was okay or not. Grace might be calling him, but that didn't make him any less worried.

" _No I'm good. I cut my arm, but that's it._ " Grace hissed as she touched the cut on her left forearm. Her head ached as well, but other than that she felt fine.

Veering onto the opposite lane, Steve floored the gas pedal and passed the car in front of him while he ignored the speed limit. He let out a relieved sigh, as Grace seemed to be all right. He still didn't want her to move, just in case. He wasn't sure about Danny though; he hadn't heard him in the background or anything. "Sweetheart, can you put your father on the phone?"

" _He's not awake, but he has a strong pulse, I checked._ " Grace told him as she placed her fingers once more in the crook of his neck to check for a pulse.

Steve swallowed the big lump in his throat as he tried to suppress the thoughts of Danny being in trouble again. "That-That's great, good work, kiddo! Don't worry okay? Help will be there soon." Steve tried to comfort Grace and his own mind. His heart was pounding in his chest, but he couldn't let the fear take over. He focused on the road, his grip on the wheel white knuckled. With lights flashing, the car in front of him changed lanes, finally allowing him to pass. Steve roared past it.

" _Okay… I'm so-so sorry to bother you with all this, Uncle Steve._ " Grace sobbed, the emotions became too much. Her father was hurt and unconscious and she was stuck and all alone.

"What? You crazy? You're not bothering me, never, you hear me!" Steve soothed her. His heart broke. She was hurt and in trouble and still she apologized to him. He would do anything for the little girl, especially in a situation like this. He would even trade places with her in a second.

" _Uhu._ " Grace mumbled. She tried to open her door again and again. " _I need to get out!_ " She shouted. Her frustration turned into panic and more tears started streaming down her face. She just needed to get out, to help her father. Grace slammed once more against her door. Finally the door burst open and Grace tumbled out of the car as she had all her weight against the door.

"Gracie? What happened?" Steve yelled into his phone.

" _I'm out! I have to try to get Danno's door open._ " She exclaimed, relief in her voice. Steve heard metal shrieking and glass shattering when all of a sudden the call got cut off and he was left behind listening to a dial tone.

"Grace! Grace?" Steve shouted, but there was no connection anymore. He tried to call her back without any success. The pit in his stomach became a wide and bottomless chasm. He pressed his foot down on the accelerator and blew past all the other cars.

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Arriving first on scene, Steve quickly pulled the car to the side of the road. It was complete chaos. The Camaro was upside down with the hood crammed into the roadside hill. Tire tracks were burned onto the road. The truck that had slammed into the Camaro was still upright. Smoke was coming out of the crumpled hood. Within all this horror was Grace, hanging onto the driver's side of the Camaro, pulling with all her weight on the door, trying to open it. The door was completely caved in; her efforts futile. Grace fell to the ground, upset and discouraged she glanced inside the car.

"Gracie!" Steve shouted as he ran towards the demolished Camaro.

"Uncle Steve!" Grace jumped up from the ground. "I can't get it open!" She pointed towards the driver's side door.

Steve examined Grace quickly. Grace had some scrapes and scratches on her face, probably from the shattered glass. Little pieces of glass were stuck in her French braids. She was still wearing her school uniform, which consisted of a garnet red polo and a beige pleated skirt. There were crimson stains across her skirt and her bare knees were covered with small chunks of glass and scrapes from the concrete. There was a deep cut on her left forearm and blood dripped down along her hand. It was still bleeding and continued to stain her clothes as she rested her arm on her lap.

"Keep your arm up, it will slow the bleed." Steve raised Grace's left hand and placed her right hand underneath her left elbow for support. He kicked some glass aside before he knelt down at the driver's side of the Camaro. He glanced through the smashed side window. What he saw made his stomach turn and he had to swallow hard to push down the need to throw up. Danny lay inside the car, face cut and bruised, his right arm under his body and the worst part, unconscious. Steve reached in carefully avoiding the broken glass of the window, and checked for Danny's pulse. Grace said it was strong, but looking at Danny's condition, he seemed anything but strong. Fear grabbed his heart as he placed his fingers on Danny's neck. Steve sighed in relief when he indeed felt a strong heartbeat.

The worst cut on Danny's cheek probably need some stitches. Other than that he seemed relatively okay. However, Steve prepared himself for the worst, knowing how the last time turned out. If Danny had hit his head during the accident then he could be in serious trouble.

Steve needed to start working on getting his friend out of the car. Screeching sirens of help arriving were closing in, but Steve started to pull on the door anyway. He placed his left foot against the car to have more leverage and counterbalance to pull it open. It helped; there was some slight movement and the door popped open. Steve pushed it open as far as it would go.

"Steve?"

"Danny!" Steve got down immediately as he heard a familiar voice say his name. Steve sighed as he stared right into his friend's baby blue eyes. "Hey buddy, hang in there, help is almost here."

"Grace?" Danny asked weakly, worry in his voice. He winced in pain as he coughed a few times.

"I'm okay, Dad. You hurt?" Grace knelt beside Steve on the hard ground as she heard her father ask for her.

"No, monkey, I'm fine, just a little stuck." Danny grunted as he shifted.

The HFD rescue squad arrived on scene, followed by an ambulance and some HPD patrol cars. Three firefighters and one medic came jogging towards Steve and Grace. Steve directed them to Danny. Sure he stayed close, but there wasn't anything he could do at the moment other than getting in their way. He and Grace stayed off to the side, letting the firefighters do their work. Grace watched with wide-eyed and anxious.

"Let's get that arm looked at, huh." Steve grabbed Grace by her shoulders, turned her around and directed her to the ambulance. She didn't need to see all of that. It had already been traumatic enough. Grace didn't say anything; she walked next to Steve in a daze.

Grace sat down on the step on the back of the ambulance. "Is he going to be okay?" Her voice quivered.

"He has to be." Steve grabbed a blanket from the inside of the ambulance and wrapped it around her. He shot a glance towards the Camaro. The medics had shoved a backboard into the car and had pulled Danny out on his back. They had put a C-collar around his neck. They placed the backboard onto the stretcher and rushed back to the ambulance. Steve moved Grace away, so they could load in the stretcher. Within a minute they had Danny in the back of the ambulance. One medic started working on him, putting an air mask on his mouth and inserting an IV-line. The other medic finished taking care of Grace's arm. She cleaned it and wrapped a bandage around it. They were about to take off, as Grace held tightly onto her father's hand, but looked fearfully at Steve.

"He'll be okay, Gracie." Steve reassured her. He hated leaving her to ride in the ambulance with her injured father alone, but the medics thought it would be best that Grace be transported via the ambulance to get thoroughly checked out at the hospital.

"I'm right behind you guys, okay?" Steve reassured her again, closing the doors of the ambulance and sprinted back to Lou's truck to follow.

 _ **tbc..**_

 **-H50-**

 **A/N: Happy Five-0 Friday! Excited to see how the boys will handle the missing uranium.**

 **Thank you for reading! Next chapter will be up in a few days.**

 **Mahalo for your support.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.**

 **A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7. Thank you julieb716 for being the beta reader. Your corrections and suggestions are amazing! You really worked your magic with this chapter! I'm really grateful for your help! If there are still some grammar of spellings issues left, they're all mine.**

 **Well this chapter originally went along with chapter fourteen, but it would've been too long, so I split it up. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading it!**

 **Chapter Fifteen**

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 **MONDAY – 5:04 PM – ER KING'S MEDICAL CENTER- DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

On his way to the hospital Steve had called Lou to inform him what happened. Even though they all wanted to come, Steve insisted their time would be better spent focusing on the investigation until further notice. Steve promised he would keep them up to date.

Arriving at the ER just as the ambulance pulled up, Steve parked Lou's truck on the side and he rushed to the entrance. The paramedics unloaded Danny on the stretcher and Grace stepped out of the back by herself. Steve offered her a hand and they walked together inside, right behind Danny. Two doctors were standing by at the entrance. Danny looked exhausted, he was breathing rapidly and the cuts and scrapes on his face seemed worse than inside the car. Maybe it was because of the bright light in here, Steve thought.

They wheeled Danny into a trauma room to examine him. The door closed behind them, blocking Steve and Grace out. Seeing Grace's anxious face knowing she needed to be checked out as well, a female doctor walked up to them and ushered her to the room next to Danny's. Steve went with her; he knew Danny would want him with Grace instead of being next to his side. Before she sutured the cut on Grace's arm, the doctor explained she wanted to do a thorough examination since Grace had been in the same car as Danny. She might be walking and talking and all, but she still had been in a car accident. Steve stepped out for the moment, impatiently pacing back and forth, trying to stem the dread he felt whenever he thought about Danny.

Steve wasn't sure how this could've happened? _Whose fault was it?_ Was it because Danny had trouble focusing? Danny admitted he had a headache. He even asked Steve for aspirins and still, Steve let him drive while Danny hadn't even driven since the surgery. Steve should've protected Danny from himself. Because not only Danny was hurt again, this time Grace was involved, too. Something Steve would not forgive himself for. Stepping outside the room, the doctor interrupted his thoughts as she said she would be right back with some sutures and equipment. Steve nodded and went back inside to be with Grace.

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He had waited impatiently with Grace in the ER. The cut on her forearm was stitched up and they had wrapped a clean bandage around it. Steve had offered her his hand, while the doctor sutured her arm. She didn't want to admit that she was scared or in pain and she didn't have to, because Steve could tell anyway. They cleaned up her face, nothing major just a couple of scratches. The one above her eyebrow got a steri-strip on it, to keep the small cut together. It wasn't that deep that it required stitches. The doc had taken some small pieces of glass out of her knees and cleaned it with saline to remove most debris.

"Commander McGarrett? Grace Williams?" the nurse who had assisted on cleaning Grace up asked. Steve nodded firmly confirming who they were. "Detective Williams is asking for you. You can go inside; the doctor will be with him shortly."

"Thank you." Steve responded as he waited for Grace to hop off the stretcher she had been sitting on. He squeezed her on her shoulder as they went over to Danny.

They had taken Danny up for a CT scan a while ago and doctor Reid got paged after Steve informed the other doctor that Danny was recovering from a brain injury. Danny wasn't pleased that Steve had told the doctor about it, but Steve didn't care. He was concerned about Danny and he was worried that he might have injured his head again. Sure they would see it in his medical files, but Steve would rather be safe than sorry.

Steve opened the door slowly, not knowing what they would find inside. Danny was sitting on the edge of the stretcher buttoning his shirt. It was like nothing happened. The only thing visible was a black-and-blue crescent that surrounded a cut on his face that was closed by three steri-strips. The rest of his face was cleaned up, with only a few scratches. His hair was messy, but that was about it. Not only was Steve surprised to find Danny in such good shape, but also seeing Officer Pua standing right next to Danny, writing something down on the notebook he held in his hand.

"Danno!" Grace exclaimed relieved as she rushed towards him and hugged him tight.

"Grace, I'm so-so sorry." Danny hugged her back. "Are you okay?" Danny lifted her chin up and looked her in the eyes. He traced his finger above the cut on her eyebrow. He had to swallow hard at the sight of his little girl being banged up.

"I'm okay," Grace reassured with a weak smile and sat down next to Danny on the stretcher.

"You sure?" Danny shot a glance at Steve making sure she was telling the truth and not just downplaying her injuries to reassure him.

"Mild concussion and 9 stitches to her arm, but other than that she's fine, Danny." Steve confirmed as he crossed his arms and stared satisfied at the two of them together. He was glad Danny seemed to be better himself, but something felt off.

"I'm so sorry, monkey. I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Danny wrapped his arm around his daughter and pulled her in a tight sideways hug. Grace rested her head on Danny's shoulder and Danny kissed her on top of her head as he put his hand on her hair and stroked it. Trying to comfort himself that she was okay.

"Sorry to interrupt you guys, but I was just taking Detective's Williams' statement. Just a few more questions and I'm out of here." Pua stepped forward again, eager to continue his work. "What's your plate number?"

"That's uh… Delta. Victor. Two… uh." Danny squeezed his eyes shut to think, but he couldn't remember the rest of the number. He stared blankly at Pua. "Why do you need to know my plate number? I'm sure you'll find it somewhere aside the road, with the rest of my car."

Steve stared at Danny, his brows furrowing. "Three. Niner. Niner." Steve finished the number, since Danny didn't seem to know it. "He'll give you the rest of his statement tomorrow morning, Pua." Steve wanted a chance to talk to Danny before he finished his official statement.

"All right, I'll swing by the office tomorrow morning," Pua nodded, understanding the situation and Steve's subtle hint that he better go.

"Thank you, Pua." Steve patted Pua on his shoulder, sending him out of the room.

The minute Pua left, Doctor Reid entered, leaving Steve with no opportunity to talk to Danny alone. Grace had tried to explain earlier what happened, but at the moment the adrenaline had vanished and she was just left with an overflow of emotions. She had started to ramble, just like her father would. Only it didn't make any sense to Steve. She told Steve about the argument and out of nowhere the truck crashed into their car. Steve still wondered if Danny caused the accident. If he did, it was indirectly Steve's fault.

"You're cleared to go home, Detective." Doctor Reid was standing next to Danny with a clipboard in her hand.

"You sure he's okay? His head and everything?" Steve asked to be certain, placing his hands on his hips.

"Just some bruising from the force of the seatbelt and from getting smacked by a table leg earlier. The memory loss, headache, problems with sleeping, bleeding from the ear. That's all to be expected with a cracked skull," Doctor Reid informed.

Steve had stopped listening after the doc said Danny had been bleeding from his ear. "Bleeding from the ear? When did that happen?" Steve looked inquiringly at Danny. Steve was familiar with the memory issues, the headaches and the sleeping problems made sense to him, but bleeding from his ear? This was completely new to him. Danny sighed and gazed down at his feet. He had hoped the doc wouldn't mention it in Steve's presence.

"There's some swelling around the first injury that already had been caused by bumping his head against a wall earlier today, but it will resolve on it's own, Commander," Doctor Reid explained to Steve. She focused back on Danny. "You have been extremely lucky that the car accident didn't do more damage, Detective."

"Did it cause the accident?" Steve inquired carefully so as not to step on anyone's toes, but he needed to know.

Confused by Steve's question, Dr. Reid responded, "I understood that the drunk driver caused the accident. You are cleared to drive, Detective, but I'd take it easy for a day or two. I consulted with Doctor Carlson and you can go home." Doctor Reid gave the three of them a comforting smile and handed Danny his discharge papers.

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Steve had driven them back home. It was just a ten-minute drive; only Grace was a bit skittish about getting back into a vehicle. Danny took place next to her in the backseat to comfort her. As Steve dropped them off at Danny's he offered to stay for a while, but Danny said they were fine, they would order in some food and watch a movie to decompress from all of it. It made sense to Steve that they wanted some time alone, so he went back to HQ.

The team had called it a night after Steve returned to HQ. It had been a hectic day for all of them. Lou offered Steve to swing by Danny's to pick up Steve's truck that was still parked in front of Danny's house. They checked in with Danny and Grace to see how they were doing. Just like Danny said, they were watching a movie and eating a pizza. Steve and Lou left satisfied.

Steve had made dinner for himself, watched some TV, taken a shower and finally dropped into his bed. It had been quite the day and he could use some shut-eye. It didn't take long before Steve fell asleep. Only an hour later, a familiar sound woke Steve. It took him a second to realize it was his phone. He clumsily searched for his phone on his nightstand, bumping his alarm clock and accidentally pushing his keys onto the floor.

"McGarrett," Steve answered his phone sleepily, with his eyes half closed.

" _Steve,_ " Danny grunted from the other side of the line.

Steve shot straight up and clenched his phone. "Danny?"

" _Something's not right._ "

 **-H50-**

 **A/N:** **Thanks to everyone who has faved, followed or left a review this far. Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you for your kind words!** **Next chapter will be up in a few days. With more whump!** **Mahalo for your support.**

 **BTW: Let's just all agree Danny shouldn't retire, 'cause a Italian Restaurant named Steve... that's not the best idea, right? :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.**

 **A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7. Thank you julieb716 for being the beta reader on this story. You really rock! As always I'm grateful for the collaboration! If there are still some grammar of spellings issues left, they're all mine.**

 **Hopefully you'll enjoy reading it! I am totally amazed with the wonderful response with this story!**

 **Chapter Sixteen**

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 **TUESDAY – 12:16 AM – WILLIAMS RESIDENCE - MOANA - HONOLULU.**

Steve didn't know how fast he got to Danny's house, but it was for sure a new record. He had gotten out of bed, not even bothered to put on some trousers; he was still wearing his black shorts. He only put on a light gray T-shirt and some flip-flops. Danny had cut off the call after Steve heard a loud stumbling noise. He redialed immediately, but there was no answer. He had called Chin on the way over. He lived closest to Danny. Steve had tried to call Danny's cell over and over, but it kept going straight to voice mail. His heart was beating so hard he could feel it in his throat and his stomach was doing flip flops. He was suddenly certain that something horrible happened, far worse than he could imagine.

Steve parked his truck in the empty driveway. Chin's motorcycle was already there parked in front of the house. Steve ran up to the front door. The entire house was dark. There only seemed to be a light coming from the kitchen. Danny and Chin must be in there. Somehow Steve hoped it was all for nothing and that it would be a story to tell over a couple of cold beers and they would all laugh at how Steve rushed over for no reason at all. Only, he couldn't shake the feeling that something horribly happened.

The front door was ajar; he guessed it was because Chin was already inside. He entered immediately and didn't even take the time to look around the house, hearing two voices' come from the kitchen.

 _"What's wrong with him, Uncle Chin?"_

 _"I don't know, sweetie."_

Steve burst into the kitchen. Steve's sudden entrance spooked Chin and Grace, who were squatted down next to Danny. Danny was sitting on the floor with his back against a kitchen cabinet. Beads of sweat covered his forehead. He looked exhausted and pale. His chest rose and fell rapidly. Danny was wearing gray shorts and his T-shirt was soaked in sweat. His legs were stretched out in front of him and his arms were hanging limply beside his body.

"Jesus Danny!" Steve exclaimed as he rushed towards him. Grace stepped aside to give Steve some room to kneel beside her father. Steve quickly took in the surroundings. The floor was wet from a glass of water that had been knocked over; the glass shattered on the ground, broken into a thousand pieces. Danny's smashed cell phone was next to him, the battery out of the back. _No wonder he couldn't reach him_ , Steve thought to himself.

"I called for an ambulance, they're six minutes out." Chin reported. He had called immediately when he found Danny like this.

Steve checked Danny's heart rate. His friend didn't look good to him. He counted the rhythm in his head. His pulse was rapid. Steve stopped counting and glanced worriedly at Danny. "Hey, Danny, you with me?"

"Steve." Danny tried to speak, but it sounded weak. His glassy eyes peered at Steve.

"Danny, what's wrong? You hurt somewhere?" Steve asked concerned, as he couldn't see anything physically wrong other than his rapid heart rate and shallow breathing. What the hell was going on?

"M-My chest." Danny grunted as he placed his hand on the right side of his chest.

"Let me see," Steve demanded and Danny let go of his chest, allowing Steve to lift up his shirt. Danny winced in pain.

"Whoa brah, that ain't looking right." Chin and Steve looked at each other. There was a severe dark purple bruise on the right side of his torso. It was right below the height of his ribs. Another bruise crossed obliquely over his chest, matching where his seat belt had been. The force caused the bruising, but it wouldn't explain the other bruise.

Danny coughed as he had trouble breathing. A sharp jerking movement around the rib cage caused him to double over in pain. He grunted and moaned. His breathing became even shallower. His world began to spin and his vision turned black around the edges. Danny's eyes fluttered as he tried to stay awake. Steve noticed Danny had trouble staying conscious.

"HEY! Danny, keep your eyes open!" Steve shouted and he carefully shook Danny by his shoulders.

"I'm okay, really." Danny shook himself to stay conscious.

"No, you're not. We're going to the hospital," Steve decided. Danny obviously showed symptoms of shock, but Steve had no clue what caused it. And, he didn't want to worry Danny or his kids until he knew for sure what was going on.

"No, I don't want to scare the kids," Danny moaned as he tried to disagree; only he didn't have the energy to argue. He coughed and he grunted as a wave of pain rushed through his abdomen.

Steve exhaled deeply. "Damn it, I'll take him myself." He didn't want to wait any longer and it would be quicker than to wait for the ambulance.

"You sure that's a good idea? EMTs will be here any minute," Chin protested.

"We don't have a choice. He needs medical attention ASAP and the quickest way is bringing him in myself." He grabbed Danny underneath his arm. Chin did the same and together they started to pull Danny up from the floor.

"Argh! Don't!" Danny yelled out in pain. Sharp pain flared up, which seemed to radiate throughout his whole body. The movement caused pressure that just induced more pain. It sent a shock wave through his abdomen. Steve and Chin slowly lowered Danny back to the floor.

"Danno!" Grace exclaimed frightened, as she watched her father sag.

"Danny! Hey! Stay with us! Buddy, you hearing me?" Steve shouted at his best friend. He slapped Danny on his cheeks to attempt to keep him awake.

"M-oky," Danny slurred weakly as he tried to stay conscious.

"Okay, my ass," Steve muttered under his breath, putting his hand on Danny's shoulder to keep both Danny and himself grounded.

The EMTs pounded on the front door. Chin yelled that the door was open and that they were in the kitchen. They came rushing in with a stretcher and medical supplies.

"His breathing is shallow and he has a rapid heartbeat," Steve informed them. "He also has two pretty bad bruises on his chest."

Nodding their understanding, the EMTs laid Danny flat on his back. Danny grunted and moaned in pain, but he didn't say anything. One EMT slid an air mask over his mouth while the other inserted an IV line. They took Danny's vitals and cut his shirt open to assess his bruises. They placed a backboard underneath Danny by rolling him on his side first and then strapping him in place.

"All right, let's go." The medics lifted Danny up and placed the backboard on the stretcher. Danny was struggling to keep his eyes open, they felt really heavy.

"Grace?" Danny mumbled while he looked around for his daughter. "Stay with your brother," Danny instructed. He needed to make sure he wouldn't be left alone at home.

"Buddy, Charlie isn't here," Steve explained as only Grace was with him tonight. He patted his shoulder in sympathy.

"No, he is. Mom brought him over, she and Stan had to leave for a week," Grace spoke up. She had been watching silently in the background, while the medics were working on her father. Steve scratched the back of his head. Grace he could handle, but waking the little guy up in the middle of the night to rush off to a hospital was something else. Chin could see Steve's dilemma.

"Go with Danny, Steve," Chin offered. "I'll stay with them. Just keep me up to date." Chin squeezed Grace's shoulder, trying to reassure her.

"Thanks, Chin, I'll call." Steve promised as he jogged out the door towards the ambulance.

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 **TUESDAY – 12:27 AM – ER KING'S MEDICAL CENTER- DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

They were almost at the hospital. Danny had managed to stay conscious the whole ride, but with each passing second it became harder. He was exhausted, so damn tired. He tried to fight the darkness dancing around him, but he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. He allowed himself to close them for just a minute.

"No Danny c'mon, stay awake!" Steve shook Danny's shoulder as Danny closed his eyes. He was not about to let his friend pass out on him. He needed him to stay alert and awake.

"I'm trying." Danny's voice was weak and muffled because of the mask.

"No, you're not," Steve barked. "I need you to stay awake. Think about Grace and Charlie. Do this for them. You listening to me?"

Danny could feel he was in bad shape and Steve was pulling every card to keep him awake and he sure pulled the right one to bring up his kids. "I hate you so much." Danny groused as he tried to suppress a snort. He grimaced and grunted. Every movement caused a stabbing pain in his chest and abdomen.

"Good." Steve grinned. "At least I know you're hearing me. We're almost there, buddy." He was doing his best to comfort Danny, to reassure him that he would get help soon.

The ambulance pulled in front of King's Medical Center. A doctor pulled the doors open, impatiently waiting for his patient. The medics unloaded the stretcher and Steve followed them as they rushed inside. The medic started rattling off Danny's vitals as they moved.

"Detective Danny Williams, 39 years, multiple chest and abdomen bruises, tenuous B.P. showing symptoms of shock." Danny clenched onto the oxygen mask as his other hand tried to find the hand he had been holding onto the entire ride. Only Steve wasn't able to walk next to him since the doctor was busy with him. The doctor's white coat flapping as he hurried alongside the stretcher, he looked quickly at the nurse's station to get a room directive.

"Trauma 4 is clear," a nurse shouted from the nurse's station. The doctor wheeled the stretcher into the empty trauma room. They lifted the backboard off the stretcher and on the count of three they transferred Danny onto the gurney standing in the trauma room.

The doctor nodded to the paramedic. "Thank you we'll take him from here."

Steve had entered the trauma room on the paramedic's heels. The doctor looked at him questionably and asked, "And, who exactly are you? You need to leave. You cannot be in here right now."

Steve didn't move, merely crossing his arms and taking a hardened stance.

"Sir, you need to leave," a nurse reiterated the doctor's words.

"I'm Commander Steve McGarrett, 5-0, his partner and his medical proxy," Steve stubbornly replied. Then he softened as he added, "I need to be here. Please."

The doctor briefly looked up from working on Danny and he and the nurse exchanged glances. Stopping for only a second, the doctor nodded and added, "If I tell you to leave at any point, I expect you to follow my orders. But for now you can stay."

A male nurse had disconnected Danny from the portable heart monitor. He put small circular stickers with wires on Danny's chest and connected them to the machine standing in the room. "BP is 85 over 50," he shared with the doctor in charge.

"Detective? Can you tell me where it hurts?" the doctor tried, but Danny grunted and mumbled something under his breath, but they couldn't hear what he was trying to say. He was barely conscious. "Pupils are responsive," the doctor concluded after he shed a small light into Danny's eyes. Steve stared at his best friend; he looked even paler now that he was lying on the white sheet.

"Push 10 milligrams morphine I.V.," the doc exclaimed towards the nurse. He examined the bruising that was visible on Danny's torso. "Appears to be an impact bruise from a seatbelt. Did he have a car accident?"

"This afternoon. He was discharged," the male nurse remembered.

"Who the hell discharged him?" the doctor asked astonished.

Doctor Carlson, who treated Danny in the afternoon, entered the trauma room. "That would be me." He quickly grabbed a pair of gloves and slipped them on. He was definitely younger then the doctor who was already treating Danny.

The attending doctor looked up perplexed at his coworker. He put a lot of pressure on Danny's stomach. "Abdomen is soft, but tender, possible internal organ injury," the doctor stated while he merged all the given medical information. "Ultrasound the abdomen, please?" he directed Doctor Carlson.

Doctor Carlson followed the order. He applied gel onto the bruises before he scanned Danny's abdomen with the transducer. He stopped shortly when he noticed the long, vertical and relatively fresh scar going straight from Danny's chest to his abdomen. "Recent scar from abdominal surgery."

"What kind of surgery did he have?" The other doctor asked Steve since Danny had his eyes closed.

"Liver donation," Steve answered promptly. He felt helpless, standing in the room watching the doctors work on his friend, so he was glad to speak up. He got a bit startled by the sudden question though.

"His liver, that's perfect." The doctor sounded sarcastic. "I need his medical file STAT."

"There's free flowing fluid. Looks like there's blood in his abdomen." The younger doctor shared his medical findings. He showed the image from the ultrasound on Danny's abdomen.

The older doctor nodded. "All right let's move! Let's take him up for CT of his abdomen!"

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 **TUESDAY – 12:57 AM – ER KING'S MEDICAL CENTER- DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

The two doctors left the room after Danny was taken for the CT scan. Steve had been told that it wouldn't be long before they would update him. So he paced back and forth with his hands on his hips through the corridor. Each minute felt like an eternity. There was nothing he could do and he hated that. Danny had said enough times that Steve was a control freak and in moments like this he was right. Steve couldn't handle the feeling of being out of control, being left alone with his insecurities. He tried to suppress every horrible thought that had been on his mind. He needed to stay positive, although it seemed almost impossible to do.

The older doctor, Doctor Lewis according to the name on his lab coat, walked back into the hallway the moment Steve was about to send a text to Chin. Steve quickly slid his phone back into his pocket and went up to the doctor. "Doc, what's going on? How is he?"

The doctor sighed deeply as he put both hands into his lab coat pockets. "Commander, the CT scan showed a laceration in Detective Williams' liver. It's quite severe and we tried to clot off that artery to stop the bleeding, but it's still bleeding into his abdomen. We're prepping him for emergency surgery."

Steve swallowed hard as he felt his heart sink into his stomach. "His liver?" He stared utterly distressed, with big eyes towards the doctor as he rubbed the back of his neck in concern. "Will he be all right? His liver is back at its normal size, right?"

"We'll do everything we can to repair his liver, but like I said, the laceration is quite severe and according to his medical file, he donated half his liver-"

Steve interrupted the doctor. "What are you trying to say?" He sounded desperate. Steve needed a straight answer and not some bullshit reassuring conversation. Somehow every possible scenario had crossed his mind, but only one compared with what the doc was trying to say. It would be a complete nightmare and with some reason Steve's gut told him he was right about it. Only this time he wished he wasn't. He felt every muscle in his body tense, bracing for what he already knew was coming.

"If we can't repair the liver, he might need a transplant."

 **-H50-**

 **A/N:** **Thanks to everyone who has faved, followed this story or left a wonderful review this far. I'm really grateful for it. Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you!**

 **Next chapter will be up soon. With more whump to come!** **Mahalo for your support, it's always lovely to hear what you think of it. Whether you love it or hate it, it's still good to know what you think of it.**

 *****Uit nieuwsgierigheid... zijn er ook Nederlanders die dit verhaal lezen?*****


	17. Chapter 17

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.**

 **A/N: Sorry guys it took a little longer than usual, but real life came in between. So thanks for waiting and I hope you'll enjoy this new chapter a little more.**

 **The story is set somewhere in season 7. Thank you julieb716 for being the beta reader on this story. You really rock! Even within everything you were still able to an amazing job! As always I'm grateful for the collaboration! If there are still some grammar of spellings issues left, they're all mine.**

 **Well with the previous chapter I raised some questions, about Steve being able to donate his liver or not. (After his own transplant) And after a very loooong search I still couldn't find a conclusive answer. But with the kind help of Elise Deschat, I can tell you, medically speaking, it would not be possible to do such thing.**

 **Chapter Seventeen**

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Steve felt the panic tighten inside him. Fear gripped his heart and alongside his guilt, it was enough to leave him feeling completely unsettled. He tried to absorb the doctor's meaning. All he could think of was how he was not able to help Danny. "Can you even find a donor that quick?"

"I don't know. He'll be placed on the transplant list as a priority, but it's hard to say," the doctor sighed. Steve felt sick to his stomach and fear crossed his face. The doctor noticed the lack of color on Steve's face. "You feeling all right, Commander?"

"You have to do everything you can to save that damn liver!" Steve urged half-begging half-shouting.

"I promise you, I will," the doctor said.

"No, doc you don't get it." Steve said with a trace of impatience. "He donated half his liver to save _my_ life and you just told me that he might need a new one. I can't do anything in return if he might need one!" His face reflected his incredulity.

"I understand. There's a higher chance that I'll be able to repair it than that he needs a liver transplant all right? Let's focus on repairing the liver instead of thinking about the worst-case scenario, okay?" The doctor touched Steve's arm to reassure him and nodded firmly. He started to take a few steps backwards. "I'll find you as soon as I'm done." He didn't wait for a response; the doctor turned and walked away.

Steve went back to the waiting area. He knew his way around the hospital pretty good by now. He wished he hadn't spent that much time here though. Running his hand over his face, he collapsed into a chair. There were more people sitting in the room, all with the same tense and helpless expression. He tried to suppress the horrifying feeling that was creeping up on him - the feeling that Danny was going to die this time. He pushed it away; he had to, not because he liked it. He couldn't allow the negative thoughts to occupy space in his head. He had to stay positive.

Lost in his thoughts; Steve sat with his hands on his neck, elbows resting on his knees, head down, staring to his feet. Suddenly he couldn't stand the confines of the waiting room any longer. The clean, but chemical smell, the bright lights. It was a repeat of a few weeks back. He couldn't deal with the helplessness, the fear. He couldn't handle it. He had to get out of here. He jumped up and fled down the hallway until he reached an exit.

He found a quiet area outside. With his hands on his hips and straightening his back, Steve drew a deep breath, making his mind numb with the cold and fresh air. He exhaled, trying to remind himself that it wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help feeling some guilt every time he thought about his best friend. Danny might not make it and he was the one person who could save him. Only he wasn't able to do that any longer because Danny had to save his life first. It wasn't the first time that Danny had to pay for the consequences. It seemed that was more often the case than not.

Steve was beating himself up about it. _Why did he have to make irresponsible decisions all the time?_ If he hadn't insisted on flying that stupid plane himself Danny wouldn't have been forced to donate half his liver and he would've been able to help Danny right now. Deep down Steve knew it was something out of his control. Out of anyone's control. Still he couldn't stop thinking about losing his best friend like that. The guilt was eating him alive.

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 **TUESDAY – WAITING AREA KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

Steve stayed outside for a while before he returned back to the waiting area. He had called Chin to update him on Danny's condition. Steve could hear Grace in the background begging to come to the hospital as well. Chin wanted to come anyway, so they agreed he would bring Grace and Charlie along. Chin would call Kono so she could pick them up and bring them over since Chin had his motorcycle.

It didn't take that long until they all arrived. Steve called Lou and he was on his way over as well. Sure they could all use their sleep, but someone in their family was in trouble and he could use the support. So the whole team waited together with Steve and Danny's children. They were all slouched in their chairs. They had said some comforting things to each other until every single one of them drifted off to their own terrifying thoughts. Grace had asked numerous questions before she went silent as well and Charlie was sound asleep in Kono's arms.

Restless, Steve found it hard to sit tight. He changed his position every few minutes. He went from leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees to slumping back into the chair. He ran his hand through his hair and crossed his arms multiple times, but the time seemed to pass by excruciatingly slowly.

After a few hours of waiting, Steve felt numb - mentally, emotionally and physically drained. He had felt a surge of guilt every time he thought about the possibility that Danny might need a transplant. The fact that they were still working on him was good though. At least he was still alive. After another hour, the doctor finally walked into the waiting room still wearing his scrub cap.

Unable to speak, Steve just stared at the doctor, hoping he would give them good news. "The surgery went fine. I was able to control the hemorrhage and repair his liver, he's going to be all right," the doctor went on as he detected an unanimous relief. "Detective Williams will stay in the ICU overnight and if there aren't any complications, we'll move him to the recovery floor at the end of the day." Everyone sighed comforted with the news.

Steve was incredibly relieved, but somehow he felt sick to his stomach. He didn't understand why though. Danny was going to be okay. He made it through surgery. Steve tried to swallow the nauseous feeling away, only he couldn't. He had to find some fresh air. He tried to say something, but his throat wasn't working. "Excuse me." He croaked out and jogged away searching for the nearest exit. He pulled the door open and rushed outside.

His stomach contracted violently and he emptied his stomach contents just around the corner of the building and out of sight from everybody. He leaned with his left hand against the wall while his right arm was wrapped around his abdomen. His chin rested on his chest as he tried to slow down his breathing. Steve swallowed hard, in an attempt to remove the disgusting lump that had formed in his throat. He spit a few times to get rid of it when he suddenly felt a warm hand on his back. Steve looked over his shoulder.

Chin stood behind him. "Everything okay?" He asked as he squeezed Steve's shoulder in sympathy.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I probably ate something wrong, I don't know," Steve lied and forced a smile. He took another deep breath of fresh air to settle his nausea. The weight fell off his shoulders after receiving the good news and somehow his body reacted this way to cope with the stress and tension.

"You barely ate anything today, so I bet it had more to do with Danny," Chin remarked as he had been observing Steve.

"No, it..." Steve tried to deny it at first. He looked at Chin, grief and relief written all over his face. "Yeah..." Steve sighed.

"You just spent hours waiting, awfully quiet. Or at least in silence, I could almost hear the wheels turning in your mind." Chin raised one brow, knowing he was right and Steve knew he was. Steve rolled his eyes and Chin tried to ease. "It's just been a long night that's all I'm saying."

Steve sighed and stared down at his feet. "I would've given it to him without even thinking about it, you know." Chin frowned, as he didn't understand what Steve was saying.

"My liver." Steve looked back up and locked eyes with Chin. "That stupid bullet had to ruin mine. I had to sit in that chair, praying he wouldn't need one, because I wouldn't be able to live with the fact that I couldn't save his life, just because he had to save mine first."

"You have been sitting with this all night? It's not on you, Steve, you know that? You don't have to carry that weight on your own, we're 'ohana." Chin stared concerned at his friend.

"I know we are 'ohana, Chin, but it is on me. I can't be there for him anymore, not like before. I'm not able to save him any longer. He has children, I don't. I didn't ask him to save my life months ago."

"Save him? He didn't ask you to save his life either. This happened out of your control, it didn't happen because of a decision you made. You're not here to save each other. You are here to be by each other's side, to be family. There's a big difference between being family and sacrificing your own life for one another." Sadness crossed Chin's features.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." Steve put his hand on Chin's shoulder. He knew what Chin meant when he said it wasn't because of a decision he made. He remembered it like yesterday when he heard Malia got killed. Chin had been living with the regret ever since.

Chin nodded. He gazed at the ground briefly before he looked at Steve and the corner of his mouth lifted. Reassuring him it was fine. He was glad Steve got it off his chest. "Let's go back inside." He jerked his head towards the entrance. "The doc said he would be back shortly to bring us up to see Danny."

"I'll be there in a minute." Steve promised. Chin went ahead and Steve visited the bathroom before he went back. He splashed cold water on his cheeks and neck, trying to freshen himself up. He left the bathroom after two minutes and retraced his way to the waiting area.

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 **TUESDAY – 5:18 AM – ICU KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

The team visited Danny first. Steve told them they should go home after that. He would let them know when Danny woke up or if something changed. Steve had carried Charlie with him. Grace wanted to stay and Steve didn't want to split them up. Charlie was sleeping, so he figured it wouldn't be much of a deal to bring him along to Danny's room.

Grace had fallen asleep shortly after they entered the ICU. She was exhausted. She had made herself comfortable and was now curled up in her chair. A nurse offered two blankets after she checked on Danny. She carefully tucked Grace under one and handed Steve the second one, so he could wrap Charlie in it. Charlie was sound asleep on Steve's lap and with his head against Steve's chest. Steve had wrapped his arm around the little guy. It actually comforted him, the calm heartbeat and the slow breathing. The boy didn't move an inch as he placed the light blue blanket over him.

Even though Steve was comforted with Charlie sleeping on his chest, he was still worried about Danny. The surgery went well, but he hadn't woken up yet. Steve had been counting the minutes ever since he took place in the chair next to Danny's bed, facing him. He let his hand rest on Danny's right forearm and squeezed lightly. There was no response, no movement, nothing.

Danny was ghostly pale and his cheeks were hollowed out. His bruised cheek seemed even darker than before, but that was probably because his skin matched the color of the white sheets he was laying on. IV lines were snaking out of his arm. Steve watched as Danny's chest rose and fell. He sat at his friend's bedside for the next few hours, listening to the digital beeps of the heart monitor and watched the moisture appear inside the oxygen mask every time Danny exhaled. He grew sleepy, lulled by the steady, rhythmic sound of the equipment. Eventually Steve had fallen asleep as well, with Charlie on his lap.

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 **TUESDAY – 6:16 AM – ICU KING'S MEDICAL CENTER- DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

After another hour Steve woke up as he could feel movement coming from Danny's right arm. Danny let out a small groan as he shifted. His left hand went automatically up to the incision on his abdomen. He didn't open his eyes though.

"Danny?" Steve asked at the sudden movement. He squeezed Danny's arm gently. Danny opened his eyes. He rolled his head to the side, as a brief smile crossed his face and he peered at Steve through glassy baby blue eyes.

"Hey." Danny grunted. His voice was weak and muffled by the oxygen mask that covered his mouth. He blinked a few times to get his sight focused and he looked around the room. Danny quickly recognized his surroundings. He pulled the oxygen mask off so could speak a little easier. He held onto it with his left hand and dropped his hand on his chest.

"Why am I not dead?" Danny sounded hoarse; he swallowed a few times before he continued. His throat was dry, he'd like to cough but his entire body was against any movement, so he tried to swallow instead.

"Who says you aren't?" Steve teased, grinning at Danny who was clearly under the influence of the pain medication.

"I'm looking at you and I wouldn't be if I were dead, because I made a deal," Danny sassed.

"You made a deal?" Steve tried to suppress the urge to laugh.

"A deal, you know, that if I die _you_ won't be around me, to make my after life just as miserable as my earth life." Danny gazed peaceful at Steve.

"With whom exactly?" Steve sounded joyful. The drug was doing its thing and he was definitely taking advantage of the situation.

"The universe. She owes me." His words were fuzzy with the remnants of the pain meds.

"She owes you? And why's that?" Steve asked humorously as he raised his eyebrows.

"She let us cross paths. She forced me to work with you," Danny sounded taunting. He might be on drugs, but he sure knew what he was saying.

"She did? In that case she doesn't owe you anything. It's been a dream the past seven years, right?" Steve shrugged his shoulder, still trying not to burst.

"Keep on dreaming. I'm sure it will escalate very quickly into a nightmare, like everything does for us," Danny mocked.

"It probably will." Steve couldn't keep his face straight any longer, he snorted. "She also prescribed you some strong pain meds, man."

"She sounds amazing, right? Maybe I should marry her," Danny chuckled. His laugh was contagious because Steve started to laugh as well. Only Danny's chuckle turned into an unpleasant coughing spell. He tried to resist every cough, because he couldn't handle the movement.

A jolt of pain rushed through his abdomen, he squeezed his eyes shut to deal with the pain. Pain flashed across his features. The grin on Steve's face disappeared instantly when he saw his friend dealing with the discomfort. So when Danny stopped coughing Steve gently grabbed his left hand and placed the oxygen mask back on his mouth.

Danny took some deep breaths of pure oxygen before he pulled it off again. "What the hell happened?"

"What'd you remember?" Steve asked as he checked both kids if they had woken up or not.

Danny's brow furrowed as he was trying to figure out exactly what **had** happened. He definitely remembered the pain. It was the same after the liver transplant. He could feel the strain on the incision. _What did they do? Open him up again? For what?_ He couldn't recall any reason why they would do so. The last thing he remembered before waking up in the hospital was that he had woken up in the middle of the night with unbearable pain in his chest. He had gone to his kitchen to take some pain meds, but somehow he could tell something was wrong and he called Steve, after that, it went black. "My chest. I called you, right?"

"Yes, you did." Steve explained quickly what happened. "The CT scan showed a tear in your liver. They had to open you back up to repair it. You have been lucky, pal."

"My head okay?" Danny asked as he pushed himself up, only he didn't have the strength to use the muscles in his abdomen. He winced as the movement placed a strain on his surgical wound.

"Your head's fine buddy, don't worry." Steve patted his shoulder to reassure his friend. Even with the pain he was in, he was still concerned about his head.

"Are you practicing for something?" Danny pointed at his son who was still asleep on Steve's lap.

"What this? Oh no... Well maybe one day." Steve carefully placed his hand on Charlie's back. He lifted his shoulder in a half shrug.

"Oh that's good!" Danny bobbed his head, staring with disbelief at his friend. "Let's just forget you said that, okay? I'm not ready for that. I mean I've got my hands full already with you, you know. Let alone a miniature Neanderthal animal." Danny sounded sarcastic.

"You really think I shouldn't have kids?" Steve asked unsure if Danny was serious or not.

"If you get the chance you should. It's the best life has to offer." A smile appeared on Danny's face as he watched both of his kids. "Except for the parts where they terrify you, theoretically it should be a perfect match," Danny teased. Steve rolled his eyes, trying not to laugh. He didn't want to cause another coughing spell.

Danny let out a big sigh. He paused to let the pressure on the incision ease. "You should stop using my kids as practice mannequins though, because you'll wreck them within two minutes."

"Does this look wrecked to you?" Steve stared down, looking at the little guy sleeping in his arms.

"No, it does not." Danny's eyes lit up as he looked at his boy. He was really thankful that Steve and the rest of his 'ohana had taken care of his kids. It meant a lot to him. "Thank you for that, but can I have my son back?" Danny patted on the bed, wanting Steve to place Charlie next to him.

Danny scooted over to make some space. He grimaced as he could feel the sutures pull when he moved. He gripped the sheet on the bed. Even with the medication, it still felt pretty tender and sore. It had already taken some months after the transplant to finally not feel the surgical incision with every movement. He had to go through the whole process again, now that they had opened him back up. It felt worse than the first time, maybe because he knew what his recovery was going to be like.

Steve lifted Charlie carefully off his lap, trying not to wake the little boy. Charlie luckily slept through most of everything that had happened tonight. Steve placed him next to Danny with a proper distance, so he wouldn't be able to hurt Danny. Only somehow Charlie noticed the gap and he snuggled up against his father while he continued to sleep. He rested his tiny hand on Danny's chest. Danny pulled him tight and leaned with his head against Charlie's. Sure the pain medication was nice and all, but having his son curled up against his side was way better than any drug. Danny's eyes fluttered as he tried to fight the sleep. He couldn't keep up the fight though. He was exhausted. Steve slid the oxygen mask back on him before Danny closed his eyes and dozed off with his son in his arms.

 **-H50-**

 **Thanks to everyone that has read and reviewed this story.** **I am totally amazed with the wonderful response with this story!** **You guys are amazing, you guys make my day! Wait no, my week... my month... my year... if that's even a thing, but I'm thrilled with the response! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this story. How's the bromance? Or the characters at all…**

 **Also it's freaking awesome there are some dutch readers as well. Good to know I'm not the only fan of H50 in this small, cold and rainy country... and thanks for the reviews. I couldn't answer them since they were guest reviews, but I did read them and I appreciate them :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.**

 **A/N:** **Hey Guys, sorry I went MIA on you all. It's been a hectic few weeks! They have been flying by. Didn't realize it had been so long, so I'm really s** **orry for it. Thank you for waiting and I hope you'll enjoy this new chapter anyway.**

 **The story is set somewhere in season 7. If there are some grammar of spellings issues left, they're all mine. I really enjoy working together with Julieb716, but life went crazy (on both sides) and that's why this chapter hasn't been corrected or anything. I did my best, but hey I'm human and I make mistakes (probably a lot of them). Anyway** **I thought I owe you all a next chapter since you all have been waiting for so long.**

 **Let me give you a "previously" so you don't have to go back to the previous chapter to check where I left you all waiting...**

 **PREVIOUSLY ON... Okay this sounds silly :)**

 ** _Danny had surgery to repair damage done to his liver. He might needed a liver transplant, leaving Steve unusually unsettled about that idea. The surgery was a succes and he didn't need a transplant. Steve went to sit by Danny's bedside along with Grace and Charlie, both kids asleep. Danny woke up and had a chat with Steve._**

 **Last paragraph of chapter 17;**

 _ **Steve lifted Charlie carefully off his lap, trying not to wake the little boy. Charlie luckily slept through most of everything that had happened tonight. Steve placed him next to Danny with a proper distance, so he wouldn't be able to hurt Danny. Only somehow Charlie noticed the gap and he snuggled up against his father while he continued to sleep. He rested his tiny hand on Danny's chest. Danny pulled him tight and leaned with his head against Charlie's. Sure the pain medication was nice and all, but having his son curled up against his side was way better than any drug. Danny's eyes fluttered as he tried to fight the sleep. He couldn't keep up the fight though. He was exhausted. Steve slid the oxygen mask back on him before Danny closed his eyes and dozed off with his son in his arms.**_

 _ **-H50-**_

 **Chapter Eighteen**

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 **TUESDAY – 11:36 AM – ICU KING'S MEDICAL CENTER- DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

After several hours of adequate sleep Danny finally woke up again. As he missed the warmth against his torso, Danny rolled his head to the side. Charlie was no longer there. His heart skipped a beat. His son wasn't next to him anymore. _Where the hell did he go?_ Danny tensed and jolted upright to search the room for his son, no one was there though. He regretted the movement instantly as a sharp ache flared through his abdomen. He clenched his jaw and leaned his head back on the pillow closing his eyes to ride through the pain.

"Danny, you okay?" A familiar female voice popped up as a warm hand touched his arm. Danny opened his eyes again staring right into the two concerned brown eyes of Kono. The oxygen mask was still on his mouth, so he moved the mask out of his way to speak freely.

"I'm fine, where are my kids?" Danny asked while he shifted in bed, trying to find a comfortable position.

"Don't worry, they're at school." Kono reassured. "We said they could stay home for the day, but Grace wanted to go anyway. Steve will pick them up later if that's okay?"

"Great, thanks Kono. I really appreciate you all taking care of them. I would do it myself you know…" Danny pushed himself up, proving he was stronger than he probably looked.

"Hey, it's okay, they're 'ohana," Kono placed her hand on his shoulder, saying he didn't have to prove anything to her. "Grace asked me to tell you she's glad that you're okay." She added the promise she made with his daughter earlier.

Danny sighed deeply and sadness clouded his face. "She must have been worried sick."

"We all were and still are, just a little." Kono showed a minimal measurement between her thump and index finger. She winked giving him her best smile, trying to cover the seriousness.

"Can't be looking that bad right?" Danny sounded taunting.

"You look just fine." Kono comforted as she retraced her steps to the chair on the other side of Danny's bed. She had been sitting there before she went out to grab some coffee.

"Good, I mean I knew you were coming so I dressed up and all."

"You did?" Kono's eyebrows went up. "That gown looks great on you." She teased.

"It does? Doesn't it." Danny exclaimed aroused as his eyes were smiling before he turned his attention to the empty room. "So where's everyone?"

"Steve has a meeting with the Governor and Chin and Lou are visiting Dr. Bennett's relatives, to see if they can help out." Kono explained and took a sip of her coffee.

"So you're on patrol duty?" Danny mocked.

Kono grinned. "No, I'm not. I figured it would be nice for you not to wake up alone."

"Thanks babe," Danny brightened and a smile appeared on his face. "How's the case going? Anything new?" He wondered if they had found anything in his absence.

"Well… According to Eden's financials she received 500 dollars each month on the same date for over five years, which Eden transferred to a savings account on her daughters name. The monthly deposit was untraceable though. We contacted her parents to see if they gave the money to her, but they hadn't." Kono filled Danny in.

"Then who gave her the money? The father of her daughter?" Danny mused.

"Could be possible." Kono raised her eyebrows. She hadn't thought of that yet.

Danny fiddled with the IV in his arm. He hated the IV; it pulled on his skin every time he moved his arm. "Do we know who he is?" He asked.

Kono shook her head in disappointment. "No, he isn't mentioned in any document and the babysitter has never seen or heard of him."

"Okay, so that's a dead-end, what about Eden?" Danny asked curious. "She has been going to a therapist for years, did we find out why?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"I had to dig deep, but I found an old case where Eden was mentioned as a witness during an investigation," Kono searched for her tablet, so she could show it to Danny. She had taken all kinds of stuff with her. Mostly files she had picked up at HPD, somewhere in that mess was her tablet. "Also, Eric recovered a voicemail from Eden to Dr. Bennett just before she got killed saying, she really need to speak with her and that she knew who did it. It wasn't an accident, it really happened. She remembered him and saw him."

"That's at least something. What was the case?" Danny inquired impatiently.

"The suicide of her best friend." Kono added as she found her tablet and swiped on the thing searching for the right document.

"That would put me in therapy too, only we both know Steve doesn't go that easy." Danny teased. Kono snorted as she handed the tablet to Danny. Doctor Lewis entered the room before Danny was able to even start reading the report.

"Good morning, Detective Williams. How are you feeling?" The doctor asked.

"Call me Danny and I'm okay, I guess." Danny replied. He didn't think it was necessary that they would call him detective, as he was not on duty at the moment.

"Good to hear." Lewis nodded pleased. "Ma'am would you mind stepping out for a moment, I need to do a quick exam and changes his dressing? Won't take long."

"Sure, no problem." Kono smiled understandingly and looked around to see if she should take all her stuff with her or not.

"She can stay," Danny waved off the doctor's request. He gave the tablet back to Kono. "Just keep searching for a connection in the meantime."

"All right," the doctor said as he studied the statistics on the monitor. "Your BP is still a little low, are you light headed? Dizzy?" Danny shook his head. He hadn't experienced any of that. Actually his head felt better than it had felt in weeks. "Lets finish the blood transfusion in that case," Dr. Lewis pointed at the unit of blood that was hanging on the same pole as the antibiotics.

"Can you sit up for me?" He asked as he gently helped Danny by pushing him forward on his back. The doctor listened to his lungs with the stethoscope. After a few seconds Danny's body started to tremble. He didn't have the strength to sit up with no use of his abdominal muscles. "Argh," Danny grunted as he dropped back. It felt like he had been doing abdominal crunches all day. He grimaced as his abdomen protested at the strain it placed on his surgical wound.

Danny held onto the sheets with a death grip. His chest rose and fell with rapid breaths, his heart rate spiked and he clenched his abdomen while he squeezed his eyes shut. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Kono had been watching from the corner of her eyes, but with Danny in pain she stared concerned to her friend, not knowing if she should do something or not.

"You're doing great. The muscles in your abdomen have weakened. It'll take longer to regain the strength than the first time." The doctor explained. Danny listened with his eyes closed. He got startled as the doctor placed the nasal cannula under his nose.

"Try to breathe, slowly." He encouraged. Danny tried to focus on his breathing, but he was tired all of a sudden. All his energy was drained. He fought to keep his eyes open, only the exhaustion got the better of him and his eyes started to flutter, his eyelids closing slowly.

"Just relax while I redress the incision, all right?" The doctor added. Danny nodded tiredly without saying anything. He just let the doctor do his thing while he dozed off, pain lingering on his face.

Doctor Lewis continued, maybe it would be better anyway for him not to see the incision. He opened the hospital gown and before he took the bandage off he put on some gloves. The doc smiled comforting at Kono, who remained seated while concern etched on her face. As doctor Lewis changed Danny's bandage, Kono caught a glimpse of the violent gash that split his abdomen and she'd turned away, back at her tablet.

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 **TUESDAY – 1:11 PM – ICU KING'S MEDICAL CENTER- DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.**

After the doctor left, Danny had slept for an hour and a half. Kono stayed with him the entire time while she continued to work on the case. Everyone had come by the hospital. Chin and Lou brought lunch with them. It was against hospital policy to be with this amount of people inside the ICU, but Doctor Lewis had made an exception since Danny was doing better than he expected. They would move him at the end of the day to the recovery floor where he would have a private room and where they could visit as they pleased.

The team quietly discussed the information they had gathered so far while Danny was still resting. They ate their lunch while they went on with the investigation.

"I've been going over this report and something doesn't add up." Kono informed the team.

"Why's that?" Steve folded his arms as a line appeared between his eyebrows.

"It says that Lauren Rhodes, Eden's best friend, committed suicide. Only she had no reason for it. Her family was devastated and they didn't see it coming. She was just like Eden a perfect student, but still she killed herself." Kono summed up the report on the tablet.

Danny had woken up by the chatter in his room. He had been listing with his eyes closed for a while. "What if it wasn't suicide?" He shared his thoughts.

"There he is," Lou exclaimed, happy to see his friend awake. "How are you?"

"Next time I'll ask them to bring in a zipper, so they don't have to cut me open again." Danny grimaced as he shifted and pushed himself up, so he could sit.

"There won't be a next time, how about that." Steve stated, as he looked serious at his friend.

"Are you saying I can get an early retirement? Because as long as we work together, you can't promise me that." Danny sassed.

"Ladies?" Lou looked warningly, but joyful at both men.

"Danny, you really think Lauren was murdered?" Chin considered the possibility, but he wasn't entirely convinced.

"Could be, right?" Danny looked questioningly around at his friends.

"Would make sense," Kono nodded. "She didn't leave anything behind, no note, nothing."

"Plus Eden said on the voice mail to Dr. Bennett that it wasn't an accident." Lou chimed in.

"What does the rest of the report say? Any witnesses, other than Eden?" Steve asked, eyeing Kono, since she was the one with the document on her tablet. It would be easier to be back at HQ, where they could see it all at once on the screens and all, but Steve rather be here, by his friends side.

"Lauren was found on the 12th of May 2009 in her bedroom on campus. She threw a party the night before, inviting all her classmates. According to this list everybody from her year was a witness. Eden was the key witness though. She found Lauren hanging in her bedroom the next morning." Kono informed.

"That's awful." Lou said remorseful and he shook his head. He felt sorry for the girl.

"All right, Kono send Max the original M.E report, let's see if he think's it was suicide or not. I don't want to open up some old wounds for nothing." Steve demanded.

"On it," Kono replied as she sent the case over at the M.E's office. She continued to read through the case file. "Get this, in her statement she said she was asleep all night."

"How can you be asleep when there's a party going on?" Chin wondered, staring at his coworkers.

"Maybe she lied," Danny shrugged his shoulders. "When did Eden give birth to her daughter?" He asked curious.

Kono searched on her tablet. "February 8th 2010," she looked up at Danny as she provided him the answer.

"I'm not a mathematic or something, but I uh, I don't think it's a coincidence that seven years ago, Lauren committed suicide, Eden dropped out of school and got kicked out of the house after she got knocked up." Danny shared.

"I don't think she lied about being asleep though. Eden was a perfect student, right? Somehow she got mixed up in all of this. That night changed her life and not in a good way." Steve stated and placed his hands on his hips.

"Is it just me or am I the only one who wants to know more about the father of Eden's daughter. I'm telling you, he has something to do with it." Danny sounded convinced. Normally his gut was telling him he was right or not, but at the moment all he could feel was his abdomen aching. The smallest movement triggered a wave of pain, which he tried to ride through, but it placed an unpleasant strain on the surgical incision.

"I don't know that, but I do know there happened a lot more on that night then we know," Steve sighed. "If Eden got murdered by someone from her past, it could be someone she met on campus, right? Do we have the names of those classmates?" He asked, since he had not his own tablet available.

Chin showed a list of names on the tablet. "Right here."

Steve scrolled through the list. "All right, let's check it out."

"We'll go back to HQ, let you rest for a bit." Lou patted Danny on his leg. Not that he wanted to leave, but it was the best for Danny's own health.

"It's not necessary," Danny waved it away. "I'm not tired."

"You're lying," Steve rolled his eyes. "And besides you had major abdominal surgery less than twelve hours ago, so it's not open for debate." He commanded.

"Debate? What are you, running for president?" Danny asked astonished, but sarcastic at the same time. "Let me tell you, nobody's gonna vote for a nut job like you."

Steve leaned forward and grinned. "You'll be surprised."

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 **WEDNESDAY – 5:42 PM – RECOVERY WARD KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.**

The next day Steve picked up Grace and Charlie from school and went straight back to the hospital, so they could visit their father. Steve asked for Danny's new room number at the main desk on the ground floor. They would move him by the end of the day, so Steve figured they had done that by now and he was right. The three of them went up to the recovery floor and searched for the right room. They found it quite easily, but the room was empty. Some of his stuff was there though. It was a bit odd. They decided to check the ICU, to see if they were moving him at the moment or something. Danny wasn't in the ICU either, so Steve checked his friends whereabouts at the nurse station. The nurse informed him that they had taken him for a few scans and he should be back in his room on the recovery floor.

They probably had to wait for a bit, but they walked back anyway. To their surprise Danny was back in his room. They had just missed him. A female nurse was easing him into the chair next to his bed. Danny grimaced as he sat down. He hadn't noticed his visitors standing in the door opening.

"I'll be back in ten minutes to get you up for a short walk, okay?" The nurse informed her patient as she placed the IV pole behind his chair.

"I'll take him for a stroll through the hallway, no problem." Steve offered as he entered the room. Danny looked up surprised. He really hadn't noticed them yet.

"All right, that's fine, I'll be back later to check on you." The nurse smiled as she exited.

"Thank you." Danny smiled back as she left his room. He wasn't looking forward to walking the halls yet. They took him for a few scans and now they placed him in a chair. Doing those things already tired him, let alone he had to go for a walk. Maybe he would be up for it after resting for ten minutes in the chair.

"What's wrong with you Danno? You hurt?" Charlie asked staring with a crooked head at his father wearing a hospital gown and sitting in a chair like an old man.

"No, silly I'm not hurt, just a little banged up." Danny reassured his son.

A cheeky smile appeared on Charlie's little face. "Superhero's don't get hurt, right?"

"That's- yes that's true, but I don't think I'm a superhero, I'm mean you clearly are. Me? I don't know about that."

"You sure can't fly with _that_ thing on." Grace teased and pointed at the hospital gown that he was wearing. She dropped on the empty bed, since Danny was sitting in the chair. Danny and Steve snorted, they both could hear Danny's attitude in the girls sassy comment. Charlie didn't get it and kept staring at his father.

After ten minutes of chitchat Steve kindly reminded Danny he had to make a short walk. Steve remembered how painful it was to walk the halls just after the liver transplant, but it definitely speeded his recovery. Danny had to do the same and besides Danny had been in the same situation before. Danny pushed himself reluctantly out of his chair. Steve could see the pain on his face, so he was instantly next to him to support him. He grabbed him underneath his shoulder and pulled him up.

"Easy," Steve tightened his grip as Danny swayed on his feet. He waited a moment so his friend could get steady. Steve handed Danny the IV pole from behind his chair for extra support. Grace and Charlie waited patiently for their father in the door opening. Steve grabbed a robe off the bed. Figured it was from the hospital, because he'd never seen Danny wearing one at home nor did he bring it along with his personal stuff. He helped Danny put the robe on.

"You good?" Steve asked as he noticed Danny was already trembling and breathing heavier than usual.

"The hallway isn't that long, is it?" Danny looked questioningly at Steve.

"No, don't worry you can do this. Don't push yourself though." Steve encouraged.

Danny shuffled out of his room holding the IV pole. Steve was walking slowly next to Danny on his right side, holding him tight underneath his shoulder. Danny scanned the hallway quickly. He had to make it to the end and back. That was all he had to do. Grace and Charlie were already walking ahead.

Halfway through the hallway Danny became slower. His whole body ached and every step was exhausting, but he pushed himself. His kids were here, so he had to. Steve noticed Danny needed more support than before. He tried to keep Danny steady as he observed his friend. Beads of sweat covered Danny's forehead, he was short of breath and his legs were shaking.

"Steve," Danny sounded weak and anxious. "Get my kids out of here."

 **-H50-**

 **Thanks to everyone that has read and reviewed this story.** **I'm thrilled with the response!**

 **How awesome is it that some fellow Dutchie's are reading this story and even a few from Belgium and France! It's just great! Not that anyone else is any less. I appreciate every single one of you! It's incredible that there are people reading my story, never thought anyone would, let alone this many!**

 **I did read all the amazing reviews and tried to answer them. (decades ago though...) For the people who gave their review as a guest, I did read them and I honestly am grateful for them, so thank you for your kind words. As always my sincerest THANK YOU for reading this story and** **sticking with me as this story continues. And again sorry for the wait.**

 **Always love to hear your thoughts...**


	19. Chapter 19

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.**

 **A/N:** **Hi everyone,** **I really enjoy writing this story, so I hope you'll enjoy it as well while reading it! Anyway enjoy** **this new chapter.**

 **The story is set somewhere in season 7. If there are some grammar of spellings issues left, they're all mine. I really enjoy working together with Julieb716, but life went crazy (on both sides) and that's why this chapter hasn't been corrected or anything. I did my best, but hey I'm human and I make mistakes (probably a lot of them).**

 **Chapter Nineteen**

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 **WEDNESDAY – 5:42 PM – RECOVERY WARD KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.**

"Steve," Danny sounded weak and anxious. "Get my kids out of here."

"What? Why?" Steve asked confused. He didn't understand why Danny would ask him such thing.

"I can't make it." Danny confessed. Biting his bottom lip as he clutched his abdomen with his right arm. He held tight onto the IV pole with his other hand, showing white knuckles.

"All right, we can go back, that's fine." Steve nodded, already trying to turn around.

"Just listen to me, for once!" Danny snapped as he was barely holding himself up. The pain was lingering on his face. He was sweating like a pig and he started panting.

"Okay," Steve agreed. "Gracie! Charlie!" Steve shouted through the corridor. The kids turned around and walked back to the two men. "Why won't you wait in the car, I'll be right there, okay?" Steve forced a smile on his face and handed Grace his car keys.

"Danno?" Grace exclaimed a little worried as she looked at her father.

Danny's legs were trembling and somehow not able to hold his own weight any longer. Despite the fact that he didn't want them to leave, he really didn't want to collapse in front of them. He quickly comforted his daughter. "It's okay, monkey. Listen to Uncle Steve. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay. I love you." Grace carefully hugged her dad.

Danny was gritting his teeth trying not to groan in pain. "Love you both," he placed a kiss on her cheek and squeezed Charlie his shoulder. Grace and Charlie went up to the elevator. Danny waited until the doors closed before he allowed himself to give in. His knees buckled and he sagged.

Steve tightened his grip. "Little bit too much for the day, huh?" He wrapped his arm around Danny's back to lend him more support.

"I'm just tired, all right?"

"You're doing great, buddy." Steve smiled sympathetic.

"Here you go, Danny." The nurse, who was earlier in Danny's room, stood behind them with a wheelchair. It was fine that Steve took her patient for a walk, but she didn't lose him out of her sight. She noticed that he was getting slower, so she better interfere before her patient would crash onto the floor. Which was every thing but the intention of the exercise.

"Don't be stubborn, just sit down in the thing." Steve could see Danny thinking about refusing the help, but he really shouldn't. He wouldn't make it back to the room, not even with Steve's support. Danny allowed Steve to help him ease in the wheelchair. He grunted and winced as he sat down. He was glad he didn't have to stand any longer.

The nurse wheeled him back to his room and Steve walked next to them with the IV pole. They carefully pulled Danny out of the wheelchair and took the robe off. Danny sank exhausted back in the bed, still clenching his abdomen. The nurse adjusted his blanket and lowered the headrest of the bed. He was too tired and in too much pain to help.

"Ai!" Danny hissed as his torso stretched and his stitches extracted on his stomach. He scrunched up his face in pain. He grasped his sheets with a death grip to ride through the flaring pain in his abdomen. His hand was shaking from overextension.

The nurse stopped abruptly. "I'm sorry," she apologized, placing her hand soothingly on his shoulder. She connected him back onto the heart monitor, as she wanted to see some statistics. His heart rate was up and Danny was still short of breath. "Does it hurt to breathe?" The nurse asked as she slipped the nasal cannula back into place. Danny nodded he was too tired to even say something. Steve watched his friend as he leaned on the end of the bed.

"I'll page Doctor Lewis. Just get some rest in the meantime." She checked his IV once more and left the room.

"Steve, don't leave my kids alone." Danny mumbled while he tried to keep his eyes open until he was certain Steve would go.

"You got it, buddy. I'll bring them home, okay? Be back in twenty." Steve touched Danny's foot and took off. He'd rather stay, but Danny was right. Grace and Charlie were waiting in the car, so he better go and bring them home.

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 **WEDNESDAY – 6:15 PM – RECOVERY WARD KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.**

Steve brought Grace and Charlie to Danny's house. He had called Rachel, but she wasn't able to get back until the end of the week. So the team had to figure out how to take care of them, since Danny wasn't able to do it himself. Steve arranged with Jerry that he would stay with them after school and Kono would take it over in the evening and during the night. Lou would take shifts with Kono. Chin offered to help, but they all agreed he should be home with Sara. Steve wouldn't mind taking care of them, he actually loved spending time with them, but he wanted someone by Danny's bedside.

After twenty minutes Steve walked back into the hospital. He took the elevator up to the 4th floor. Just as he hoped, Doctor Lewis was standing at the nurse's station. He chatted with the nurse and typed some things on the tablet he was holding. Steve hoped to get an update on Danny. He wasn't satisfied with leaving his friend behind like that, but he had no other choice.

Steve went up to the doctor. "Excuse me, Doctor. How's Danny doing?"

"Ah Commander, well Detective Williams has some discomfort. Which is to be expected. He has pain in the right side of his chest as well as the surgical incision is bothering him. His right side is bruised from the blow and impact, which causes him to be in pain every time he coughs, sneezes or even breathes. His oxygen levels are lower than they should be, so I recommend he will keep the oxygen mask on until tomorrow morning." Doctor Lewis informed.

"Anything we can do about it? He did go for a walk earlier. Was it too soon?" Steve asked concerned, hands on his hips and leaning forward. _They didn't push him, right?_

"We'll do some deep breathing and coughing exercises, they will help keep his lungs active throughout the recovery process and prevent complications such as pneumonia," Lewis explained patiently. "Nurse Rebecca will teach him to splint his incision. This will reduce the movement of his stomach muscles and decrease pain while he does the coughing exercises. Walking will help prevent blood clots in his legs and it also decreases the risk of having other complications, so no, it wasn't too soon. We'll try again tomorrow, because he's too tired right now." He handed the tablet back at the nurse behind the desk.

"It's normal to be this tired, right?" Steve remembered being tired himself after the transplant, but he wanted to be sure it wasn't something else.

"Feeling tired is the most common complaint. It is an expected side effect," the doc pointed with his head towards Danny's room. "He's in bed right now, resting and trying to get his oxygen levels back up. Tomorrow he has to come out of bed, as much as possible though. We don't want any setbacks."

Steve nodded. "Is it okay if I go in? Sit with him?"

"Sure, no problem," The Doctor approved. "Just keep the talking to a minimum, so he can rest."

"Okay, thank you Doctor Lewis." Steve shook the man's hand. They both turned around to go their own way, but before Steve went in, the doctor suddenly added. "Oh, Commander, Doctor Reid will stop by shortly."

Steve stopped abruptly and walked back up to the doctor. "Something wrong with his head?"

"No. No, it's just that Detective Williams was prescribed an anti-seizure drug, for his brain injury. Only that type of drug induces liver injuries and is frequently listed in causes of drug induced acute liver failure. I consulted with Doctor Reid and we both agreed he should no longer take that medicine. Just so it can't do any damage to his liver." Lewis explained.

"He's off his meds? Isn't that dangerous?" Steve wondered out loud, concern etching on his face.

Doctor Lewis pager went off, so he ended the conversation quickly. "Doctor Reid will explain it to you in further detail."

"All right, thanks Doc." Steve forced a smile on his face and went up to Danny's room. Doctor Reid better come by soon, because Steve was very uncomfortable with Danny being off his meds. He opened the door quietly, so he wouldn't wake him. Danny was lying on his left side and eyes closed. He was holding a pillow onto his stomach, hugging it tight. It was a trick to decrease the pain at his incision. His breathing was steadily with the help of the oxygen mask. Steve dropped in the chair next to the bed.

Steve listened to the steadily beeping heart monitor. He was too restless. He went from leaning forward, to slumping back into the chair. Eventually he sat with his hands in his neck and elbows resting on his knees. He didn't know why, but he was still worried about Danny. He had been through enough and still he was lying in that damn hospital bed. Maybe he should take it easier once he got discharged. Take some time off to heal, instead of rushing back to work. It would only work in his disadvantage if he wouldn't. Steve would bring it up tomorrow; let Danny sleep for the moment. He could use it.

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 **THURSDAY – 2:48 AM – RECOVERY WARD KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.**

Steve stayed for the rest of the evening and the night too. In the mean time, Steve had contacted Chin to discuss the case while he did some work himself on his tablet. They had been running background checks on every person on the list of Eden and Lauren's year. Nothing strange had come up yet, but they wouldn't give up until they would find something. Danny was asleep the whole time. The nurse had to wake him to draw some blood, but he had immediately dozed off again as soon as the nurse was done. Steve had been on the hallway, making a phone call with Max, so he missed the little wake up.

Doctor Reid had stopped by briefly. She had explained it at Steve and he shouldn't worry about it. They started Danny on different medication and on a lower dose. It wouldn't affect his liver as much as the previous medication could. The moment she was about to check on Danny, she got paged to an emergency surgery, so she had to go. She would come by after she was done.

Steve watched Danny as he slept for the rest of the evening. He had shifted a few times in his sleep, but that was about it. He hadn't let go of the pillow, still hugging it tight. Around midnight Steve decided it was enough for the day and he had closed his tablet, kicked off his shoes and lifted his feet on the bed. He had made himself comfortable, arms crossing his chest. Shortly after that he fell asleep too.

At 2:48 am Steve woke up as something touched his feet. He looked up, finding Danny gazing at him with his baby blue eyes. Danny moved the oxygen mask out of his way. "Steve, go home."

"No, I'm not going home. Put that back on, your oxygen levels are a too low." Steve disagreed and gently grabbed Danny's hand and tried to place the mask back on.

Only Danny resisted and gently slapped his hand away. "I'm okay," he assured as he pulled the mask off and dropped it somewhere next to his pillow.

"How's your head by the way?" Steve asked curious as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He hadn't heard Danny about it, but that didn't mean he might have a headache or any discomfort. Especially now that he was on different meds and a lower dose.

Danny scratched his eyebrow. "Head's fine, it hasn't been like this in weeks." He was actually surprised about the fact that for the first time in weeks his head didn't bother him anymore.

"That's great," Steve smiled and patted Danny on his arm. He waited a moment before he shared his other concerns. "Hey, I-I was thinking, maybe your should take some time off after you get discharged." He focused on Danny, waiting for him to react.

"Stop thinking in that case," Danny grunted as he shifted. "And like you would do, huh? After my noble sacrifice, you went straight back to jumping off rooftops, dodging bullets, getting stabbed in the back and you almost got drowned." He rolled back on his left side, facing Steve and placed his arm underneath his head.

"I had no choice. Besides, you went back to work too." Steve objected while his forehead creased.

Danny sighed annoyed. "Yeah, because I didn't get shot in the liver and I got discharged a week before you did."

Steve held up his hands. They had this argument before and it didn't need to happen again. "All I'm saying is just slow down a notch, that's all."

"You talking to yourself? Maybe you should follow your own advice the next time." Danny mocked and rolled his eyes.

"All right," Steve leaned forward. "How about another wheelchair race? Winner gets to decide whether you take it easy or not." He looked daring towards his friend.

"No, I'm not going to do another wheelchair race," Danny waved his suggestion away.

"You scared?" Steve grinned and raised one eyebrow.

"I'm not scared," Danny started to get pissed off. He didn't want to waste his energy on arguing about such thing, so he tried to shut Steve up. "I'm protecting you of potential bodily harm and I don't want to embarrass you in front of our friends again. Besides I don't lose. Period." He gloated over his last win.

"I give up," Steve slumped back in the chair. He paused a moment as he noticed the lingering pain on his friends face. Danny was being stubborn about this and Steve didn't need him to do so. "I just don't want you to get hurt again anytime soon. We've had enough of that already." He finally shared.

"You don't have to worry about me, Steve. Just take care of yourself and I'll take care of me." Danny shot an irritated look at Steve. He wasn't in the mood to notice Steve's vulnerability.

Steve stared at his hands and swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "That's not what happened when you donated half your liver to me."

Danny dropped his hand on the bed out of astonishment. "That was a completely different circumstance," He exclaimed with a high-pitched voice. "You weren't able to take care of yourself! You were dying! So I jumped in, saved your ass so you could take care of yourself again." He grimaced as his rant took more out of him than he expected.

"That's my point, okay? I can't save your ass, so I'm asking to take it slow. That's all I can do." Steve locked eyes with Danny. Saying he was serious about his request.

"What are you talking about?" Danny eyes widened as a line appeared between his eyebrows.

"Your liver is what I'm talking about. They didn't know if they could repair it or not and in that case you would've needed a transplant," Steve jumped out of the chair and paced through the room with his hands on his hips. He avoided Danny's look for the moment. He could feel the insecurity from earlier boil inside of him again. "I couldn't exactly give you mine, right? I couldn't save you, okay?"

"What's the matter with you? Did you get in hit on the head or something?" Danny raised his voice. "I didn't ask you to save my life," He eyes almost popped out of his head. He was perplexed. Danny babbled on. "I don't need you to. That's not what we do. I rather have a best friend than a lifesaver. I mean I appreciate the gesture that you were willing to give it to me, but I would never blame you for not saving my life? This is not on you. It's not your fault someone decided to T-bone my car, right?" He stared daring at Steve.

"No, it was not." Steve admitted as he shot a look over at Danny.

"Just forget about it, okay? We're going to be fine," Danny paused a moment to allow the deep throb from his protesting abdomen to ease. This conversation wasted all his energy, but he didn't want Steve to feel guilty about this too.

"Cleary the universe doesn't want me to enjoy my peaceful after life yet, but you better jump in front of me the next time someone tries to shoot me." Danny smirked. Steve couldn't keep his face straight as Danny revered to the conversation they had before. He had to grin and they both snorted.

Danny grimaced and hissed as a sharp pain rushed through his stomach. He tried to inhale deep, but that resulted into a coughing fit. Danny pressed the pillow on his suture line to get some support, ease the pain and control his breathing again. He was certain it didn't hurt like this the first time they had opened him up. Steve was instantly near him. The digital beeps from the heart monitor spiked and Danny was breathing rapidly, avoiding to have to take some deep breaths. Somehow Danny had reached for Steve's hand and was holding onto it with a death grip. Steve squeezed back and waited for his partner to calm.

As soon as Danny's eyes started to flutter, Steve strapped the oxygen mask back on, placing the elastic band over his head. He noticed the two scars on top of Danny's head. It made his stomach twist. He had never seen them before; they weren't visible if he did his hair like he always did. It brought back some more uncomfortable feelings from months ago. The uncertainty, the guilt, the anger. Not that the scar on Danny's forehead didn't remember him, but somehow he got used to that scar already. Steve sat down again while he rested his hand on Danny's arm. He watched as Danny's eyes slowly closed.

"You got it, Buddy."

 **-H50-**

 **A/N: Thanks to everyone that has read, faved, followed or reviewed this story.**

 **For the people who gave their review as a guest, I did read them and I honestly am grateful for them, so thank you for your kind words. (Hi back to the one who left a review and said hi from Paris.) As always THANK YOU for reading!** **Next chapter will be up in a few days.**

 ** **Mahalo for your support and I a** lways love to hear what you think of it...**


	20. Chapter 20

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.**

 **A/N: E** **njoy** **this new chapter!**

 **The story is set somewhere in season 7. If there are some grammar of spellings issues left, it's on me. I really enjoy working together with Julieb716, but life went crazy (on both sides) and that's why this chapter hasn't been corrected or anything. I did my best, but hey I'm human and I make mistakes (probably a lot of them).**

 **Chapter Twenty**

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 **THURSDAY – 5:56 PM – RECOVERY WARD KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.**

Steve had stayed through the night, but in the morning he had gone back to work. Danny needed his rest and the team could use his help. At the end of the afternoon Steve went by the hospital to check on his friend. He retraced his steps to Danny's room. It had almost become a routine. He usually parked his truck on the same spot, took the elevator up to the 4th floor, said hello to the nurse and went to see Danny in his room.

Steve found Danny lying in bed as he entered the room. Danny didn't look up at his friend's appearance; he just gazed outside through the window. He looked at little better to Steve. The color on his cheeks had restored and he didn't seem to be in much pain. The oxygen mask was no longer strapped on, he was disconnected from the heart monitor and he wasn't holding onto a pillow either.

"Hey, you feeling any better?" Steve asked as he walked up to the bed. He actually expected Danny to be out of the bed as the doctor recommended.

Danny rolled his head to the side. "Tired, but better," he was finally able to breathe without feeling a stinging pain in his gut, so yes it felt definitely better. "It doesn't matter if I sleep or not. I feel tired after I wake up anyway." He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. The bedhead was raised, but he lay sprawled.

Steve sat down in the available chair next to the bed. "Yeah, I know." He admitted. It wasn't that long ago that he felt the same. After the liver transplant he was exhausted throughout the whole day.

"So did you get something off the list?" Danny was going nuts with nothing on his mind. Tightening his jaw as he clenched his arm protective across his abdomen. He removed the blanket off his legs; he turned and slung his legs over the edge. Remaining seated, he grabbed the side of the bed, squeezing it tight. The room was spinning, so he closed his eyes for a second until the wave of dizziness passed.

Steve stood up, uncertain what Danny was trying to do. "No, we ran background checks on everyone, but we came up empty," he stared with an aneurysm face at Danny. "What are you doing?"

"Would you relax? I'm just going to sit in that chair, okay?" Danny explained confident, reaching for the IV pole while he rose from the edge of bed. "What about Max? Did he reexamine the case?" He asked interested.

Danny was standing by himself, but Steve didn't completely trust it and certainly not after yesterday. So he grabbed him gently by his arm, while he told Danny the latest information. "Max examined the photos of Lauren and he agrees that it wasn't a suicide. The marks on her throat were wider than the rope that was used to hang her. According to his findings she was strangled to death."

With Steve's support, Danny made his way slowly over to the chair, on the other side of the bed. "Sounds familiar. The killer must have been at the party in 2009, right?"

Steve carefully eased Danny into the chair. "That's right, and we finally got the list of people that came into the ER the night that Eden was killed. So guess what,"

Danny let out a small grunt as he sat down. He had much more strength than yesterday, but standing up and sitting down was not his favorite. "Just tell me, I know what you're going to say, but you don't like to lose and you will. Next thing you'll be pissed, because I guessed it." Danny was talking with his hands, almost ripping the IV out of his arm.

"Spill it, Williams." Steve jerked his head.

"You're forcing me to ruin your day, you're aware of that, right?" Danny looked with a straight face at Steve. "Okay fine," He sighed obnoxious. "You crossed the ER list against the classmates from Eden and Lauren and there's a match. The killer came into the ER and they bumped into each other." He stared deadpanned at Steve, to see if he was right or not.

Danny knew his partner well enough to know exactly what he was thinking. Steve tried to avoid Danny's stare, a muscle in his jaw twitched and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. It were all signs of Danny being right about this. "You wanted to say the same thing, right?" Danny gloated.

"Okay, I was about to say the exact same thing. I still win though," Steve stated with a broad smile on his face. "You didn't guess his name."

"I'm surprised you didn't try to make a deal out of it. You could've gotten a free dinner," Danny teased. "Not that you ever pay for anything anyway."

Irritation caused Steve to blow air out of his nose and roll with his eyes. "Nathaniel Coleman," he changed the subject back to the case. "He got hit in the eye with a golf ball, passed out and went to the ER to get checked out. Never thought that would lead to committing two murders." Steve noticed the grimace as Danny shifted in his chair. He handed him the extra pillow in case he needed to cough or anything.

"All right, what are we thinking?" Danny waved it away and Steve tossed it back on the bed.

Steve sat down in the chair next to Danny and leaned back. "Well we're thinking, back in 2009, Lauren found out that Eden was sleeping with Nate. It got out of control. Nate accidently killed her. They covered it up and now years later they ran into each other. He waits till the end of her shift, making sure she never said anything to anybody. He overheard her on her phone, talking to someone about it and he kills her too."

"That doesn't make any sense. Eden said on the voicemail to Dr. Bennett that she recognized and remembered him. Why would she forget him?" Danny glanced questionably at Steve.

Steve shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe she was acting out, like her parents said. Maybe she drank too much and passed out. Could be why she slept through the party? Lauren threatened to tell her parents about it and they killed her together." He tried to make some sense of the still unsolved murders.

"They were best friends. Eden didn't kill her best friend. Who does that?" Confusion contorted Danny's face.

"I won't," Steve innocently held up his hand palms. "I mean, I had opportunities enough and you're still here." He joked.

Danny shot a judgmental look at Steve. "I would kill myself before you could even lay a finger on me." The minute he said it, a wave of tearing pain rushed through his abdomen. He grasped the arm of the chair and waited for the pain to pass. "I got one more thing. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be arresting this guy?"

Steve was sitting on the edge of his seat. He noticed the discomfort, but it had passed before he could do anything. "We went to his house, but he wasn't there. He hasn't show up at his work either."

"He's on the run?" Danny concluded.

"We put an APB out, so he's not going anywhere." Steve assured.

"Searched his house?" Danny assumed they would've done that, but he asked anyway.

"Eric found shredded documents, so he's putting them back together. CSU is tearing down the place, trying to find anything that might tell where he is." Steve informed. Eric had found paper shreds all over the place, probably the missing therapy files of Eden.

"Good. Do we know if he's the father of Eden's daughter?" Danny asked curious to know if the scumbag would kill the mother of his own daughter.

Steve shook his head with disappointment. "No, we don't. We ran his name through CODIS, but no hit. His DNA is not in the system."

"Where's the kid?" Danny carefully reached out to the cup of water standing on the nightstand, but as he remained seated he couldn't grab it.

Steve jumped up and grabbed it for him. "Social services placed her with a temporary foster family. Eden's parents didn't want her." He handed Danny the plastic cup of water.

"I'm sorry, what?" Out of astonishment Danny let his hand down the same minute that Steve let go of the cup. The cup smashed on the ground and the water splashed onto the floor. "What do you mean they didn't want her? Can you believe these people?"

"Seriously?" Steve held out his hands, pointing at the pool of water on the ground. "They have the right, Danny." He looked with an aneurysm face at his partner while he got some paper towels from the bathroom.

"I know they have," Danny exclaimed disapproving. "But we should at least talk with them."

"We," Steve pointed his finger at Danny and back at himself. "Are not doing anything. I'll make a phone call and you are going to take care of yourself and heal."

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 **FRIDAY – 6:34 PM – RECOVERY WARD KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.**

The next day they gathered in Danny's room to enjoy their dinner together. Jerry had brought Grace and Charlie over and he had stayed himself as well. Kono and Lou had visited Danny during the day, while Steve and Chin continued to find any clues on where the suspect could be hiding. Danny was feeling better and the deep breathing exercises really helped him control the pain. They were having a good time, making jokes; eating pizzas and Lou even managed to sneak in some beers. Obviously Danny couldn't have any of it, but he was fine with them eating and drinking. It was a total mess inside the room after they finished. Pizza-boxes were all over the place and everyone had found a comfortable place to sit.

Steve was lying on the bed instead of Danny. As the doctor recommended Danny had to spend some time out of bed and him being a coherent patient, he listened to the advice. Not that he really did it because the doctor told him so, he just couldn't lie in bed all day. He was too restless for that. After a while Steve and Danny did the usual; they argued.

"I mean, I'm almost always eventually right," Steve smirked.

"Yeah, you know, people like you are like clouds. When they disappear, it's suddenly a beautiful day." Danny mocked as it wiped the grin off Steve's face and it appeared on Danny's. The rest of them started to laugh.

A ringing phone disturbed the laughter. It was Steve's, so he got off the bed and answered. "McGarrett," he focused immediately while he received information. "We're on our way." He disconnected the call and slid his phone back into his pocket. "HPD has their eyes on the suspect. We have to go."

"What are we waiting for, let's go!" Jerry stood energetic up from his chair, while the rest of the team, slowly rose from their seats. They were done for the day, but they had to go anyway. It was for the better and they knew that, but still none of them actually wanted to go.

"Jer, you can't come along." Chin placed his hand sympathetically on Jerry's arm.

"What? Oh. Yeah. No of course, I'll stay here." Jerry stared disappointed at the ground.

They quickly said their goodbyes to Danny before they rushed out of the room. Steve had promised he'd be back to take Grace and Charlie home. Danny was fine with that, he was feeling tired, but he could handle them. Besides Jerry was still here. Grace was on her phone; probably texting with Will and Charlie was drawing on a pizza-box with a pen he had found.

Ten minutes later, Jerry's phone rang. It was Steve. He put his phone on speaker as he answered. "Commander,"

 _"Jerry, you still with Danny?"_ Steve exclaimed from the other side of the line.

"I'm here, Steve, you're on speaker. What's going on?" Danny asked curious to know what was happening.

" _Nate has taken Hailey from the foster family. He's on the run with her. The foster mom got the plate number; HPD ran it and got a hit. They lost him in pursuit. We need some eyes on that car."_

"You got it. I'm pinging your GPS together with the suspects." Jerry tossed some pizza-boxes aside, grabbed his tablet and typed wildly on the thing.

Everyone was in contact with each other through their earpieces. Danny and Jerry were focused on the three colored dots on the tablet screen. Steve and Lou had paired up and so did Kono and Chin. The third and red dot was the suspect's. "Steve, take exit 19A. He's heading to Middle Street." Jerry notified as the red dot took a right.

 _"He's heading towards the airport."_ Steve stated. _"Chin? Kono? Do you have eyes on him?"_ Steve asked over the comm, since they were approaching from the other side.

" _Negative,_ " Chin responded.

Danny wasn't sure what was going to happen, but they were ready to take the guy down if it was necessary and he didn't want his kids to hear any of that. "Grace, go get something from the vending machine together with your brother."

"No thanks, I'm good." Grace said monotonously without taking her eyes off her phone.

"I don't think your dad was asking." Jerry responded towards Grace.

Danny stared annoyed at Jerry. He didn't need him to intervene. Like Grace was even going to listen at him. "Just take your little brother, okay?" Danny said again.

Grace sighed obnoxious and took her little brother's hand. "Come on, Charlie." They both walked out of the room.

"He just took a right onto Koapaka Street," Jerry informed while he still followed the dot on his screen. All of a sudden the dot stopped moving. "He stopped at Alamo."

" _We see the car,_ " Lou mentioned as they closed in.

Danny and Jerry could hear them getting out of the car and shout some demands. It went silent on the other side of the line. "Steve?" Danny requested his partner to answer and tell him what was going on. He should actually be in bed. He had been sitting in the chair for a while now, but the team could use his help and he was too damn stubborn to admit that his abdomen was bothering him. He had felt worse; this time it was more a dull pain that didn't seem to vanish.

" _We found Hailey,"_ Steve explained the sudden silence. _"Coleman's not here though. Do you know where he went, Jerry?"_

Jerry grabbed another tablet and got access to the CCTV cameras that provided him a visual of the street. He searched for the suspect. On the footage Nate got out of the car and sprinted away. "He went inside the storage building across the street."

 _"Okay, I'm going in. Chin, Lou, go around the back. Kono stay with the girl till HPD arrives."_ Steve demanded as he jogged towards the entrance.

"Keep your eyes open, okay? You don't know what this nutjob is capable of." Danny protested. He didn't like the thought that Steve was going in by himself.

 _"Who me?"_ Steve asked amused.

"I don't know why I bother. You're incapable of being careful." Danny snapped. He actually had a knot in his stomach about it, but Steve had to make a joke about it. On the camera footage they could see Steve entering the building, aiming his gun. Chin and Lou went to the back. They lost visual on all of them for a second. Chin and Lou popped back up on another camera.

 _"You worried, partner?"_ Steve muttered as he was searching the building.

"No. I'm not. I just need someone to bring my kids home, that's all." Danny sounded sarcastic while he stayed focused on the surveillance footage.

" _I'm moved."_

"You're moved? Remember when I asked for your opinion?" Danny teased. Steve didn't answer. "Yeah, me neither." He snapped and looked up at Jerry, who not even seemed to notice the little argument between the two men. He was completely focused on the tablet.

" _Forget about it. Jerry, there are cameras in here, can you get access?_ " Steve asked hopeful. He didn't want to let this man get away.

"Let me try," Jerry typed and searched quickly. Danny had made his comments about Jerry, but with out him, they couldn't have done it. Several live images popped up on the tablet and they both scanned the footage for the suspect.

Danny clicked on the footage where Steve was visible. "Steve! Behind you!" Nate was behind him holding an iron pipe. Steve quickly turned around and aimed his gun on Nate.

 _"Nathaniel Coleman! Five-0!_ Steve shouted. Nate took a swing at Steve, but he was able to dodge it, he zeroed in and shot. The iron pipe got tossed through the air and landed with a loud bang on the concrete floor. The force of the bullet made Nate stumble over and he fell on the ground. He got hit in the shoulder. " _Stay down. Stay down, hands on your back!"_ Steve demanded.

Nate followed Steve's demands while grunting in pain. Steve took a zip tie from his vest and cuffed him with it. " _You're under arrest for the murders of, Lauren Rhodes, Eden Morrison and Helen Bennett."_ Steve pulled Nate up as Lou and Chin jogged in on them. Steve handed Nate over to Lou.

"Did he just get shot?" Jerry stared with big eyes at the screen of the tablet.

"What'd you think? That they would just throw the bullets at him?" Danny stared with raised brows at Jerry. "Yes, he got shot." He added when Jerry didn't seem to get the underlying sarcasm.

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 **FRIDAY – 7:54 PM – RECOVERY WARD KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.**

Eric had managed to put the shredded documents back together. It were indeed the session files of Eden with her therapist. With that they had enough evidence on Nate. He confessed quickly, as he wanted medical attention. Lou brought the little girl back to the foster family and the team closed the case back at HQ. The paperwork would come tomorrow. Steve went back to the hospital to pick up Grace and Charlie, who were still with Danny. When Steve arrived he found Danny wiped out and barely awake in bed. Charlie was asleep in a chair and Grace was, as usual, on her phone.

Steve took them both back to Danny's place and he would stay with them during the night. Kono had done that a couple of nights already; so Steve thought it would be his turn. The rest offered to come and stay with Danny, but Danny convinced Steve that nobody needed to stay with him during the night. He could use the time alone. As much as he appreciated the company, he really wanted to just sleep. Although, Steve left the tablet behind with the photo's of the session files.

As soon as Steve had left, the curiosity got the better of him and Danny started to read the shrink notes. There were a lot of documents to go through. He fell asleep half way through, but after a short nap he woke up again and continued to read. It was a horrible story to read, but he went on anyway. Everything was in there; it was like a diary and it told how it all went down in 2009. It was the least Danny could do for the girl to give her the rest she deserved. He read all of it, all night long.

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 **SATURDAY – 9:02 AM – RECOVERY WARD KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.**

The next morning Steve and Lou went by the hospital. They brought some breakfast with them. Danny wasn't allowed to eat the pizza yesterday, so they thought they would make it up with some breakfast. Both men went up to the 4th floor and walked down the corridor towards Danny's room. Only to find the room empty and abandoned.

Steve walked up to the nurse station. "Excuse me, do you know where our friend could be? He's not in his room. Did they take him for a few scans or?"

"What's his name?" The young nurse behind the desk asked polite.

"Daniel Williams,"

"Let's see…" The nurse typed the name in on the computer. She quickly scanned his chart. "No, he's not scheduled for any scans." She stated, as there was nothing scheduled according to the computer log.

"Then where the hell is he?" Steve exclaimed confused.

 **-H50-**

 **A/N: Thanks to everyone that has read, faved, followed or reviewed this story. I love seeing the continued support you guys have for this story. You all are so invested and show so much involvement. It really brightens up my day. I Didn't have the time to respond on some of the reviews yet, but I wanted to post this chapter anyway. So hopefully I'll be able to do so.**

 **But If I can't find the time,** **I did read them and I honestly am grateful for them, so thank you for your kind and thoughtful words. As always THANK YOU for reading!** **Next update will be up on Friday or Saturday.**

 ** **Mahalo for your support and I a** lways love to hear what you think of it...**


	21. Chapter 21

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **A/N:** **I believe Fan Fiction didn't send an email, to the subscribed followers, with the notification that chapter twenty got posted. So if you haven't read chapter twenty make sure to read it first before you continue to read this brand new chapter. Any one else having the same issue?Hopefully it will send an email this time... it probably won't.**

 **DISCLAIMER:** **I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.**

 **A/N: E** **njoy** **this new chapter!**

 **The story is set somewhere in season 7. If there are some grammar of spellings issues left, it's on me. This chapter hasn't been corrected or anything. I did my best though, but I make mistakes (probably a lot of them).**

 **Chapter Twenty-one**

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 **SATURDAY – 9:02 AM – RECOVERY WARD KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.**

"Then where the hell is he?" Steve exclaimed confused. He shot a questionably look at Lou. He placed his hands apprehensive on his hips and looked around the hallway. Doctor Lewis walked up behind Lou.

"Doc, did you take Danny for a walk or something?" Steve asked as the man approached them. Lou went back into Danny's room.

"No, not yet. I'm here to take him," his smiling eyes transformed into a narrowed gaze. "Why?" He asked puzzled.

"He's not in his room." Steve stated. He could see the concern on Doctor Lewis face. Which made him automatically concerned as well.

"McGarrett," Lou shouted from inside Danny's room. Steve and the doctor hurried into the room. Lou stood near the bed. "His phone's gone and he put on his own clothes." He pointed at the blue hospital gown tossed on a chair and the bag with personal stuff stood opened on the ground.

Steve lifted some magazines off the nightstand. "The tablet's gone too," he had left it there last night. Steve pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Danny's phone. It went straight to voice mail. He tried again hoping his partner would pick up, only that didn't happen. It went immediately to voice mail again. "His phone is off. What's he doing?" Steve looked worried with a deep frown at Lou.

"He couldn't have gone that far, right? He hasn't regained full mobility, yet." The doc mentioned. He sighed deeply, regretting that he didn't come by sooner.

"All right, I'll take the elevator down. Lou you take them up. Doc call me if he shows up at his room." Steve demanded while he scribbled his phone number on a magazine cover. Lou and Doctor Lewis nodded firmly. They rushed off to search for Danny.

Steve jogged through the corridor, zigzagging amongst the people who were walking there. He pushed the elevator button many times until the door finally opened. Lou took the elevator next to him, which was going up. Both men went the opposite way. Steve pressed every button till the ground floor. On every floor he held the doors open, looked around the hallway and went back inside the elevator down to next floor.

Steve's heart started pounding at an increasingly rapid pace. He checked his phone, to see if he missed any calls or gotten any messages, but there were none. _Where could Danny be?_

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 **SATURDAY – 9:13 AM – FRONT DESK KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.**

Steve had checked the other three floors quickly. There was no reason Danny would be on one of those floors. The elevator stopped on the ground floor. The door opened and Steve looked around to see if he could see Danny, but he didn't. He scanned the waiting area quickly, not that there was much sense that he would be there. Danny had no reason at all to be anywhere else other than his room. Steve went around the corner. His heart rate slowed instantly as he heard a familiar voice.

Danny stood by the front desk, holding onto the IV pole with his left hand. He rested his right arm on top of the desk, while held the tablet in his hand. Steve sent Lou quickly a text saying they were on the ground floor. It didn't make any sense to him why Danny would be here. Dressed in casual clothes, it almost seemed like he was ready to go home.

Danny was speaking with the nurse behind the desk. "It's eight-zero-eight-five-five-five-zero," He paused. "I uh I, that's all. I don't know the rest," Steve stopped and his face slackened. Those were the first seven digits of his phone number. _Did Danny just forget his phone number?_ _Why would he forget such thing?_ It's programmed in his cell phone, but he was sure Danny used to know it from the top of his head. Steve's brow furrowed and his eyes darted about in concern.

"Sir, I can't call if I don't have the complete number," The nurse responded.

"Then why don't you call HPD, they will put you through." Danny snapped waving with his free right his hand.

Steve walked up behind Danny. "Aren't you supposed to have my number on speed dial?"

Danny turned around, only standing with the support of the IV pole. He sighed exasperated. "And you-you were supposed to be here 15 minutes ago."

"We got stuck in traffic," Steve explained quickly. "Danny, what are you doing down here?" He asked with an aneurysm face.

"What am I, I'm buying some baseball tickets. What does it look like I'm doing." Danny sneered.

"Well certainly not answering your phone." Steve folded his arms in front of his chest, looking disapproving at his friend standing by himself and downstairs. Two things he shouldn't be doing.

"The battery died and there was no charger in the bag you brought over." Danny stated as he grabbed the desk again for the support. He had been downstairs for a while now and his abdomen was throbbing, just like his head. His head was the one he was actual concerned about, because he had not felt his head like this in days.

"You could've called from upstairs." Steve shrugged his shoulders, as he disagreed with Danny's excuse. It was not a straight explanation on why he would be down here.

"Sir, you should get back to your room." The nurse behind the desk interfered the two men as she noticed Danny's tight grip on the desk.

"I'll take him back, no problem," Steve smiled reassuring. "Could you let Doctor Lewis know, I found him downstairs?" He asked the nurse, so the doctor could go back to work again. Steve grabbed Danny by his bicep and guided him back towards the elevator. He did it a little less gentle than normal, but he knew Danny would resist if he didn't.

"You found me? What am I? A fugitive?" Danny protested as he tried to release himself from Steve's grip.

Steve stopped abruptly. He let go of Danny and stepped in front of him. "We've been looking for you, okay?" Steve confessed as Danny rolled his eyes.

"Great, well you found me. Let's go," Danny started walking slowly and went around Steve to go towards the exit. "We need to go see the vic's parents again." He muttered under his breath.

"Whoa, what is the matter with you?" Steve exclaimed as he went after Danny. "You can't leave the hospital. You want to pop some stitches? You can't go, okay?" He stopped his friend by placing his hand on Danny's chest.

"I have to apologize and they-they really should read this." Danny handed the tablet that Steve brought over last night. Showing the session files of Eden.

Astonishment widened Steve eyes. "Do not tell me you've been up all night, reading that?" Steve snatched the tablet out of Danny's hand. "Let me assure you that they do not want to read any of that." He locked the tablet and stared frustrated at Danny. How could he possible think Steve would let him near the Morrison's after last time? Those people had been through enough.

"Did you even read it?" Danny inquired as his brows snapped together. "No of course you haven't, otherwise you wouldn't say that."

"Eric just sent the most important pages." Steve admitted. He was planning on going over it today.

"That guy you arrested is guilty for a lot more than just murdering those people. Her parents deserve to know the truth," Danny raised his voice as the exhaustion forced him to hold onto the railing on the wall. He grimaced as a jolt of pain flashed through his stomach. Danny leaned against the wall with his right shoulder as he let go of the IV pole. He wrapped his left arm protectively around his abdomen trying to ease the agony in his gut.

Steve sighed as he reacted calmer. Danny seemed tired and in pain. They shouldn't be arguing. It would only drain more energy. "Listen to me, you can't go. Look at yourself you're exhausted." He sympathized. Steve became more concerned the longer he looked at his friend.

Danny steadied himself and cleared his throat. "We have to. I have to, okay? I need to apologize to them." He acknowledged.

Steve rolled his eyes. "It's not negotiable, Danny!"

The elevator door opened, Lou got out and stumbled right onto the two men arguing with each other. "There you guys are, everything okay?"

"Yes, we are going back up." Steve announced. He was happy to see Lou and Doctor Lewis as well. There was no way that Danny was getting out of here anymore. Not with the doctor around.

Danny stared annoyed at the two men that seemed to join the intervention against him leaving. All of a sudden his heart started racing, but he was not about to give up. The Morrison's deserved to know the truth. "No, we need to, uh... to go." Danny stammered. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and he was sweating, like he had been running a couple of miles. He was feeling fine before and this came out of nowhere. He still needed to go though.

Doctor Lewis was standing next to Lou. "Let me get a wheelchair for you." The doctor offered as he noticed the strain it took on his patient to just stand. He also looked a bit pale to him.

"No, Steve, we-we," Danny objected. He was not going back to his room. He had to go. He just had to. Danny tried to get out of here anyway only his legs didn't cooperate. He was too damn tired to even take another step. He blinked repeatedly as his vision became blurry. "We sh-should…" Somehow it became difficult to talk. "We ha-have," He had to swallow a few time before he managed to say the rest of his sentence. "T-To go," _what was happening?_ It felt like a Déjà vu. _Something was wrong._ "Ste-"

"Danny?" Steve asked worried as he examined his friend. Danny looked pale and beads of perspiration lingered on his forehead. He was breathing rapidly and his pupils appeared to be larger than normal. Steve and Lou shared a concerned glance. Danny's eyes rolled back and the loss of muscle tone in his body caused him to slump forward.

"Danny!" Steve exclaimed as both he and Lou reached for Danny and grabbed him quickly by the shoulders before he could hit the ground. "Doc!" Steve shouted as he glanced back over his own shoulder, as he held tight onto Danny, hanging unconscious between them.

Doctor Lewis turned around and hurried back to the two men holding his patient. "Get him on his side." He demanded. Steve and Lou handled quickly. Danny's whole body was tense, but the second he was on his side he started to seize. The doctor moved the IV pole aside as it had fallen onto the ground when Danny slumped forward.

"I need ten of Diazepam!" Doctor Lewis ordered. "Watch his head." He added towards Steve and Lou as Danny continued to convulse. His body was making fast jerking movements until the doctor pushed the diazepam. All of a sudden he relaxed and his body went limp. Steve placed his hands on his hips and straightened his back. He locked eyes with Lou as the both let out a relieved sigh.

Doctor Lewis rolled Danny carefully on his back. The relieve with all three men vanished instantly as small vertical shaped crimson stains started to enlarge through Danny's light gray shirt. "Oh crap, I need a gurney!" Lewis yelled.

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 **SATURDAY – 11:53 AM – RECOVERY FLOOR KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.**

After the incident downstairs, Doctor Lewis had closed the surgical incision again and had taken Danny up for some scans of his head and abdomen. Doctor Reid had been paged to consult with him since she was Danny's neurologist. Danny was brought back to his room after they made the scans. There didn't seem to be more damage other than popping his sutures. Both doctors agreed that he should rest. Danny was confused about what happened and had dozed off a few times. The seizure had drained all his energy and since he had barely slept that night, he felt exhausted.

Lou was sitting with Danny in the room, while Steve waited for Doctor Reid to stop by. He had a lot of questions about what happened and how this would affect his health. Danny wasn't able to have that kind of conversation right now, so Steve did it for him. Steve was pacing down the corridor as Doctor Reid showed up.

She smiled politely as she walked up to Steve. "Commander McGarrett, I understood you had some questions?"

"Yes, I do," Steve placed his hands apprehensive on his hips. He was clearly concerned about Danny's condition. "How could this have happened?"

"Well, it might just be from changing the medication and the lower dose. Or the fact that he barely slept last night. Seizures are very sensitive to sleep patterns. The lack of 'good sleep' makes most people more likely to have seizures. Don't worry, he'll be fine," Doctor Reid explained as she placed her hand on Steve's arm to reassure him. "It will be under control once he'll take the right dose of his medication and gets enough sleep at night." She added.

"That's what you said last time," Steve protested gazing indignant at the doctor.

"I know, but he didn't stick two both those things. Not that he could do anything about changing his medication, but the combination most likely triggered the seizure. I can't tell you if he will have another seizure or not. If he'll have another seizure it's a sign to slow down and adjust his medication."

"A sign? He can't be working in the field that way, right?" Steve leaned a bit forward looking confused at the doc. His arms were crossed and his brow furrowed deeply.

"I have to admit it's not a perfect situation if he gets another seizure on the job. But I'm not recommending that he's going to sit on a couch all day, just to be sure it won't happen. That's not healthy. Having seizures should not affect the type of job that a person has. So I suggest he'll recover from his abdominal surgery and once he's ready, he can go back to work." The doc shared her opinion.

"You sure," Steve affirmed and his brows creased.

"I am, there will be some major adjustments and he needs to be careful of course. He can start with desk duty, but I don't see why he can't go back into the field with time." Doctor Reid added cautiously.

Steve shot a glance into Danny's room through the window that provide the staff to keep an eye on their patients, without going into the room. He could see Lou talking and Danny seemed to be awake. He should get back in there. Steve knew enough for now.

"I got it covered doc, thank you." He forced a smile on his face as he walked back inside the room.

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 **SATURDAY – 11:53 AM – RECOVERY FLOOR KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.**

Danny let out a small gasp as he awakened after several hours sleep, his head and body a chorus of pain. He shifted, feeling a lightning bolt shoot through his head. The pain started, sharp at first and then sharper. Heavier. Slowly rounding into agony. It took him a minute to realize he lay in the partially reclined hospital bed. Again. He remembered vaguely that he went downstairs, but after that it went dark.

The bright light sunlight drove knife blades into his skull when he opened his eyes, aggravating the constant headache. He made a low growl. It was the same headache he had for weeks after the explosion. The pain provided him with an answer that something was wrong with his head. He examined his head with his fingers. He touched the scar on his forehead before he combed his hand through his hair. No bandages. Nothing.

"Hey, man." A distinctive low voice spoke. Danny slowly rolled his head to the side, to see where the "hey" was coming from. Lou was sitting next to the bed in a chair.

"What happened?" Danny pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ease the headache.

"You don't remember?" Lou asked.

Danny shook his head, but twitched with pain. "Just tell me," the relentless, throbbing headache made thinking difficult.

"I don't want to scare you or anything, but you had another seizure."

"What?" Danny jolted upright. "Argh," the movement made him groan and he felt his abdomen scream in protest. He winced, brows furrowed tight with pain.

"And you ruptured some of your sutures." Steve explained as he entered the room, noticing Danny's discomfort. Danny shot him a look before he closed his eyes to deal with the pain. Steve locked eyes with Lou, asking in silence if he and Danny could have some time to talk, in private.

Lou got the hint and stood up. "I'm going to get some coffee." He stated.

As Lou left, Steve leaned on the end of the bed with his elbows. He stared at his own hands and sighed, deflating loudly. "We need to talk," Steve scratched at the stubble on his cheek his voice matter-of-fact almost distant.

"Can we do that another time? I'm tired." Danny grunted as he stared at Steve, letting him no he didn't have the energy for it. His friend looked serious back at him.

"No, we can not. I know that you're tired, you probably have a headache and you're in pain. That is because you didn't listen to yourself, so you're going to listen to me instead." He said not bothering to mince his words.

"I can take care of myself. I did it for the last 39 years and it went perfectly okay, at least until I met you." Danny objected as he reached for the spare pillow. He needed to take a few deep breaths, but without splinting the surgical incision it would hurt like hell.

Steve jumped in, handing him the pillow. "Danny, I'm going to say this once and after that I will never mention it again," his expression was compassionated.

"Steve-" Danny started but Steve interrupted him. "Just listen to me before you start arguing," he demanded. "You're going to take some time off and heal. You don't get to argue about this. I'm telling you to take it easy and you're going to listen to me."

"Why are you… you don't have to be so worried, okay? It doesn't suit you."

"I'm not worr- okay, I'm worried about you and that won't change until you're able to take care of yourself. You saved my life by giving me a piece of your liver. Besides you said it yourself; you did it, so I could take care of my self again. Let me save your stubborn ass for once, so that when you're feeling okay, you can take care of yourself again."

"Stop, you can't do this. You wouldn't be arguing with me right now, if I didn't give you a piece of my liver. So no, you don't get a say in what I do." Danny snapped as he held tightly onto the pillow.

"No, I would not, but I am. I'm not giving you any organs or something, but I'm saving you this time by telling you to slow down a notch. I rather have a best friend too, you know. One who's alive and not died because he was too obstinate to listen to his partner. Let me save you this time and in this way? I don't want have to search for another friend or partner, okay?"

A long moment passed before Steve continued. "You've had my back since day one and you always will. You even saved my life and I'm thankful for that. So let me do this in return. I'm your partner, okay? And I do have your back, I always have and I always will. I would trade places with you at any second, you know that, right?"

Danny had to swallow hard. "I know you have and I know you would. It makes you a complete idiot, but I love you for it, buddy." Appreciation glowed in his eyes. "However you really should stop worrying, you're not getting any younger by doing that." Danny teased; he wasn't very good in responding when someone he cared about opened up to him.

Steve snorted, before sadness overtook his face. "All I'm asking is for you to take the time you need to get back to being yourself and we'll go from there."

Danny sighed. He understood the seriousness of the condition he was in and if he was honest with himself he hadn't been okay ever since the explosion. He had the choice to argue about this for a while longer, but was exhausted; he really wanted to sleep and Steve was right about it. "All right, I know you're not going to drop this until I agree with you, so fine. I'll take some time off." Danny stated as he locked eyes with Steve. The only thing bugging him was that he still needed to visit the victim's parents. "I really want to speak with Eden's parents though,"

"We'll go together once you get discharged." Steve said, relieved that he finally got through to Danny. He just hoped Danny was serious about it and not because he was tired and wanted to sleep. Even Steve could tell he was exhausted, but he really needed to talk with Danny.

"Promise?" Danny asked.

"I do, okay?" Steve promised. "Get some sleep."

 **-H50-**

 **A/N: Soooo Steve finally got it off his chest...**

 **Thanks to everyone that has read, faved, followed or reviewed this story.** **I'm very grateful with all the support. I value each and every one of you! You guys are really awesome and make it so much more fun to write! Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you for your kind words!**

 **Thank you for reading! New chapter will be posted within a few days.**

 **Mahalo for your support and happy Five-0 Friday!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **A/N:** **I believe Fan Fiction didn't send an email, to the subscribed followers, with the notification that chapter twenty and twenty-one got posted. So if you haven't read the pervious chapters make sure to read them first before you continue to read this brand new chapter. Any one else having the same issue? Hopefully it will send an email this time... it probably won't. In that case I'll send you a message my self. I believe it did send one though...**

 **DISCLAIMER:** **I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.**

 **A/N: E** **njoy** **this new chapter!**

 **The story is set somewhere in season 7. If there are some grammar of spellings issues left, it's on me. This chapter hasn't been corrected or anything. I did my best though, but I make mistakes (probably a lot of them).**

 **Chapter Twenty-Two PART I**

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 **SUNDAY – 10:06 AM – RECOVERY FLOOR KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU**

Steve had woken up early that morning, just like every morning actually. He went for the usual swim and afterwards he showered and made himself breakfast. Steve was finished within an hour and a half. He poured another cup of coffee before he went to the hospital. Danny didn't sleep in as well, so Steve assumed he would be awake by now. Since Steve had nowhere else to be nor did he have any other plans, he'd better spend the day at the hospital with Danny.

At Steve's arrival Danny was still sound asleep. Steve could tell something was wrong. Danny was back on his left side, pressing the spare pillow tight against his stomach. The nasal cannula was back in place as well and that hadn't been the case for a few days now. Not even after the seizure the day before. They did connect him back onto the heart monitor yesterday, but they hadn't taken him off yet. All those small signs worried Steve a little.

He went up to the nurse's station to speak with a nurse. He confirmed Steve's suspicions. Danny had a tough time last night. The male nurse assured him it was all back under control right now. A minor set back as the nurse called it, whom promised to stop by a little later. With that thought Steve returned to Danny's room. In the following hours Steve had been reading the therapy session files of Eden Morrison. He wanted to read it anyway and since Danny was still sleeping he had some time to kill.

Later on Danny shifted in the bed. Directly getting remembered of being stitched up again. The fresh sutures pulled on his skin. His head hurt as well, but it was nothing he hadn't felt before. What he had felt this morning was a whole other story. The pain had been searing through his abdomen with a terrible intensity. Danny took a deep breath, trying to forget about it. The nasal cannula was strapped a little tighter than he liked, but the extra oxygen tingling through his nose made him feel more comfortable at the moment.

Opening his eyes, Danny looked straight at his partner. Steve was too focused on the tablet, that he was holding, to even notice he woke up. Pushing himself up, Danny pressed the pillow a little tighter against his stomach. "What time is it?" He asked hoarsely.

Steve got a little startled by the sudden question of his former sleeping partner. He stared at his watch. "It's 10.06 am." He shot a concerned glance at Danny. "How'd you sleep?"

Danny sighed loudly. Grunting afterwards as it placed a string on the incision. "Fine," he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Really? Doesn't look like it from over here?" Steve said, referring to the death grip on the pillow and the nasal cannula strapped under Danny's nose.

"Didn't say I slept great, did I?" Danny forced a smile on his face, pretending it was nothing, but he realized he looked probably worse than a few days back. "How long have you been sitting here?" He wondered why Steve hadn't woken him up. Knowing his partner, he'd be up early, which meant he'd been here for a while now.

"Two hours or something," Steve confirmed Danny's presumptions. "I didn't want to wake you up. The nurse said you had bit of a rough night, woke up a few times…"

"…Refusing to take the pain meds." Nurse Jake entered Danny's room and finished Steve's sentence. Danny had been stubborn during his shift. There was no way he could get through to his patient, so he had let him. He left out the part how he had found Danny in the middle of the night though. Jake could tell Danny wouldn't appreciate it if he told Steve about it.

Danny rolled his eyes, not wanting to be remembered of this morning. He had refused the meds before his previous dose had worn off, thinking he didn't need them. Only that seemed one of the biggest mistakes he had made lately. A half hour later he woke up soaked in his own sweat and with such severe pain he almost screamed. "I took them, eventually." He locked eyes with the nurse silently telling him to say no more.

"Yes," Jake gave Danny a sympathetic smile. Letting Danny know, he wouldn't tell what really happened.

Steve stared with an aneurysm face at both man. They were not telling him everything. Danny sighed exasperated at the sight of Steve's face. "Please, don't give me that look. You hated the stuff too, remember?" He snapped.

Steve looked with narrowed eyes at Danny. "Okay, that's true, but they give it for a reason, Danny. Besides it speeds the recovery, remember?" He snapped back.

"What? You guys make it a habit to be in the hospital, or?" The nurse joked.

Danny and Steve answered simultaneously. "With him as your partner, yes." - "We try not too."

"You might want to work on that," Jake grinned, shaking his head. He could tell those two meant trouble when they would be together, in a good way though. "Let me change your dressing and I'll be out of your hair again."

Danny shifted onto his back, knowing the drill that followed along with the words 'change your dressing'. The head of the bed was still flat, so the nurse left it that way. Jake removed the blanket from Danny's torso and unbuttoned the hospital gown. He put on some gloves and peeled the old dressing off. It felt everything, but nice. Normally if Danny had a Band-Aid or something, he would pull it off quickly, so the pain would only last a few seconds. Only they couldn't do that with the wound dressing and he hated it. The incision it self already felt sensitive, but peeling off the dressing, lifting up the surrounding skin and the incision edges made it burn like Hell.

The nurse tossed the old dressing in the trashcan along with his gloves and put new ones on. He unpacked a package with gauze. Jake gave Danny a little heads up. "There's some dried blood, so I'm going to clean it quickly. It might be a little uncomfortable." Danny nodded that he should go ahead.

Jake cleaned the wound with some antiseptic fluid and later with saline and patted it dry. Making a circular motion on the incision line with some gauze. Danny stared straight at the ceiling while he clenched his jaw. The phrase 'A little uncomfortable' wasn't anything near it. It felt more like someone was sticking pins and needles into him. Danny let out a suppressed grunt from the intensity. Hot pain was flashing through his stomach. His skin was on fire and the rubbing made it even worse.

Steve watched from the corner of his eyes as the nurse did his thing. He tried to focus on the tablet, but he couldn't help to notice Danny's discomfort. Steve didn't say anything about it. Danny had his eyes locked on the ceiling and Steve got the hint that this was his way of getting through. Steve had been here before himself, so had Danny. He actually had a pit in his stomach thinking about it. Somehow his own hand went up to his abdomen. He could feel his own scar burn, knowing how it exactly felt when they cleaned his incision. Only this time it was his friend who had to relive all of it. Steve hated it to sit on the sideline and be so helpless while watching his friend getting tortured. He would trade places with him in a second if he could.

After applying a sterile bandage on top of the 15 cm midline incision Jake took off his gloves. He raised the head of the bed, so Danny would be more comfortable while speaking with his visitor. Jake knew Danny had still some trouble taking deep breaths, so he encouraged. "Take a few deep breaths. It will feel better afterwards." He said and closed the hospital gown back up.

Danny did as he had been told. Inhaling went fine only exhaling deeply caused him to grimace as it placed a string on his incision. It hurt a lot less than during the night, but it still felt pretty sensitive. Especially right after it got cleaned up.

When the nurse was satisfied, he trashed the dressing packages together with his gloves and he left Steve and Danny alone again. Danny waited a few seconds, to make sure the nurse was out of sight, before he removed the nasal cannula. It was strapped way too tight and he thought he would manage without the supplemental oxygen. He wasn't short of breath or anything, so it wouldn't give too much trouble to remove it.

"You sure you want to do that?" Steve asked, uncertain if Danny should take it out without consent.

"I know you are a good looking guy, but you're not that breathtaking, okay?" Danny mocked as he tossed the cannula somewhere behind his pillow. "Did you finish that yet?" He pointed at the tablet Steve was holding.

Steve rolled his eyes on Danny's comment. He stared back at the tablet. "Yeah, almost. It's horrible, right? It's already awful enough to read how she tried to recollect things over the past years. I can't imagine what that must have been like." He shared his thoughts.

"Me neither," Danny readjusted his pillow. "Well… I actually do. I uh… I mean it's just one day and nothing _that_ terrible happened, but still, you keep wondering what happened, you know."

"Still nothing, huh?" Steve inquired, not knowing what else he could say to fix his blurt out. He should've thought about Danny before he said it. It probably brought back a lot of feelings.

Danny sighed irritated. "Nope."

"I can tell you if you want?" Steve offered. Trying to make it right.

"No, please don't. That's even more frustrating." Danny waved it away. "I know bits and pieces because you guys told me, but sometimes I think about it and I don't know if I actually recall it or that it's just something I've been told. So it's probably better to keep me in the dark." He explained.

Steve nodded understandingly. "I'm going to make a phone call with Social Services, see if there's anything we can do." He stood up and put the tablet on Danny's nightstand. "Chin's coming over with the kids, so you just rest till then, okay?" He patted Danny's shoulder before he left the room.

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 **SUNDAY – 10:46 AM – RECOVERY FLOOR KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU**

Steve went around the corner to stretch his legs while he made the call. There wasn't much Social Services could do, but they did provide Steve with some information. He was everything but satisfied with the info, so he tried to shake it off before he walked back. The last thing he wanted was to get Danny all worked up about it and he would, because somehow he was always able to see what was on Steve's mind.

Steve went back to Danny's room, seeing Chin and Charlie inside through the window. Grace on the other hand was standing against the wall outside the room. Out of Danny's sight. Steve walked up to the girl, who stared down to the floor. "Gracie, something wrong? You don't want to see Danno?"

Grace got caught off guard. "Uncle Steve," she looked sorrowful at Steve. "He's not okay, is he?" She carefully shot a look into the room, not wanting to be seen by her father.

"He will be, don't worry." Steve leaned with his back against the wall as well. Standing right next to Grace. He gently lifted Grace's arm up to see if the bandage was still properly wrapped around her arm. She didn't mind him doing so. As Steve was satisfied with what he saw, he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, so he could look at the cut above her eyebrow. "How are you holding up?" He asked while concern etched on his face.

"I'm fine," Grace reassured. She couldn't let her concerns about her father slide though. "Why couldn't we see Danno yesterday? Did something happen?"

"He was really tired. That's all." Steve assured superficially.

"Don't lie to me, Uncle Steve." Grace sounded vulnerable as she glared disappointed at Steve.

"I would never lie to you, Grace." Steve stepped in front of her and he looked into her eyes. "I may not always be able to tell you everything, but I'll never lie to you, okay?"

"Then why couldn't we see him?" Grace raised her voice a little. She still didn't understand and deep down she knew it was more than her dad being tired.

"I don't think your father wants me to tell you this. He doesn't want you to worry about him, you know?" Steve tried to avoid the sad puppy dog eyes of Grace. Over the past years Grace had become his weakness. She really felt like family to him. Steve sighed deeply. He couldn't hide the truth from her. "It's just that he's still dealing with some complications from the head injury and he popped some stitches yesterday. He was hurt and exhausted, so he really needed his rest."

"What kind of complications?" Grace asked worried. "Was he yelling again?" Her eyes widened as she remembered Danny's fall out.

"Did he yell at you again?" Steve's brows snapped together with concern.

"No, he didn't," Grace assured.

"Okay, good." In relief Steve placed his hands on his hips as he inhaled deeply. "Well Danno is going to take some time off once he gets discharged. To spent more time with you guys and to get better." He said, trying to end this conversation. He wasn't sure if he should be informing Grace on all of this.

"Will it help? I mean he's not been the same since the head injury, right?" Grace looked down at her hands. "I noticed some changes." She whispered, sounding afraid.

"Hey, don't worry." Steve placed his hand on her shoulder. "Your dad's been through a lot lately. I know that, but he survived all of it, didn't he?"

Grace kept staring straight to the floor. "Yeah, only this was pretty close, wasn't it?"

Steve scratched his eyebrow. "I'm going to be honest when I say that he's been really lucky, Grace. But hopefully with some time he'll be the same again. We should support him and give him time," he waited until Grace looked up at him before he continued. "He needs it."

Grace nodded to herself, understanding what her uncle was saying. She was really glad they had the chance talk. Despite her own desperation, she got some hope that it all would be all right. Grace gave Steve a hug, thanking him for this little chat. She knew Steve cared about her father and so he must have been worried too. He sure wouldn't show it, but she knew that underneath the whole Navy SEAL attitude he had trouble dealing with the situation as well. With that on her mind, Grace tried to lighten up the mood. "He said he survived worse, you know."

"Oh sure he did. I mean he had a hard time when he found out you had a boyfriend, but he survived, right?" Steve sounded taunting while a smile appeared on his face. "He'll be okay. And if there are some issues left, we won't love him any less because it of it, right?"

"Definitely not." Grace agreed with Steve.

"Good, now let's go back in to tell him that."

 **\- H50-**

 **A/N: The next chapter will be the last chapter of this story.** **You all have been very patient with this story, so** **I thought I'd give you guys a** **heads up.**

 **Thanks to everyone that has read, faved, followed or reviewed this story.** **I'm very grateful with all the support. I value each and every one of you! You guys are really awesome and make it so much more fun to write! Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you for your kind words!**

 **Thank you for reading! New chapter will be posted on Saturday!**

 **Mahalo for your support!**


	23. Chapter 22 Part II

**Wānana Pū – Recollect**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the Characters.**

 **A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7. Thank you julieb716 for being an awesome beta reader. Your corrections are amazing! You're very talented and I'm really grateful you helped me! YOU ROCK! If there are still some grammar of spellings issues left, they're all mine.**

 **A/N: Just need to get this off my chest, but wow the season 7 finale was quite intense, right? Not giving any major spoilers if you haven't seen it yet... I mean everything was amazing until the last few scenes! Don't know why they would do it, but showing everyone's ending storyline was a pretty, let me say this decently, 'unpleasant' thing to do. I sure as **** hope they're not gonna do what I think they might wanna do... Knowing that season 8 probably is going to be the last one makes me even more upset.** **They all deserve a happy ending. At least they should end the season with one! But let's be honest, season 7 has been a blast, they worked incredibly hard and gave us 25 insane episodes. So I'm gonna keep that in mind for the moment... can't wait until it's September!**

 **For now ENJOY this last chapter!**

 **Chapter Twenty-Two PART II**

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 **MONDAY – 5:26 PM –** **MR. AND MRS. MORRISON'S RESIDENCE – DIAMOND HEAD**

Eight days later Danny got discharged late in the afternoon. Steve had promised they would visit the Morrisons together and Danny took him up on it. He couldn't wait a minute longer, so they headed over to the Morrison's right after Steve picked him up from the hospital. Steve wasn't completely pleased with the idea, but Danny had reassured him a couple of times that he was fine and that Steve should stop worrying. Steve knew Danny was right. The past week Danny had been doing better every day. He was able to walk without any support and barely slept during the day. If it weren't for the scar on his abdomen you wouldn't know something had happened. So it should be fine to make a quick pit stop.

The Morrisons weren't that fond of the visit though, especially not with Danny there. Their last visit hadn't gone exactly how it should have. Steve had to convince the Morrisons to let the both of them in, but after Danny apologized Charlotte Morrison welcomed them into their home. Mr. Morrison wasn't fond of their visit though. Somehow it felt better if Steve just spoke and told them what really happened to their daughter, not that Danny didn't want to. It was some tough news and he knew it shouldn't come from him, considering how their last conversation went down.

"We found some evidence during the investigation showing what really happened and we thought you both had the right to know the truth," Steve said sitting in the chair as Charlotte indicated he should take a seat. Both Danny and Mr. Morrison were standing, facing each other.

"All right, and that might be?" Walter Morrison snapped off with an increased pitch in his voice.

Steve shared a look with Danny before he started. He leaned forward in the chair. "Back in 2009, Eden found her friend Lauren Rhodes dead inside her bedroom."

"That was years ago. I don't understand why any of that has something to do with our daughter being murdered." Walter interrupted impatiently as he took place next to his wife on the couch on the opposite side from were Steve was sitting.

"Lauren didn't commit suicide, sir. She was killed by the same man who murdered your daughter," Steve informed him calmly. He quite imagined the conversation would go like this. He couldn't blame them for their reaction though.

"What?" Walter exclaimed incomprehensively. "How's that possible?"

It didn't matter how prepared Steve was, conversations like this were never easy. He didn't even know if he could prepare himself for such kind of thing. He would rehearse what he would say over and over in his head, but there was no way he would know what the response would be. It was the part of the job that he really hated. He and Danny had made the deal they would take turns when it came to bringing some bad news.

Steve inhaled deeply through his nose. "Lauren gave a party the night before she died. She invited a lot of people. Everyone was downstairs partying, while Eden was studying in her room. They had a test the following day, but Lauren convinced her she would pass the test anyway and that she should come and have one drink. Eden did. She had just one drink. After that one drink she didn't feel so good. She went to bed, earlier than planned." He paused a moment to look at his partner. Danny was standing with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Compassion clouded his features. Steve knew he was beating himself up on the inside.

Steve went on. "I'm very sorry to have to tell you this, but Eden was drugged and sexually assaulted that night."

"Oh my God!" Charlotte cringed and put her hand over her mouth. Walter stared with his mouth open. The color drained out of his face and he blinked a few times before he wrapped his arms around his wife.

Steve knew it would be best if he just continued. "Lauren went to check on Eden, since she had told her she didn't feel well. Lauren walked right in on them. She became a liability the minute she opened that door, so he killed her. Eden didn't fully processed what happened because she was heavily drugged. She didn't see the man's face. She never knew who did it. It all came back when he came into the ER where she was working the night shift."

"How did we miss this? How? Why didn't she say something to us? We are her parents!" Charlotte ranted at her husband while tears ran down her cheeks.

"Ma'am, this is not your fault. The only person responsible for all of this is never going to see the light of day again." Steve sincerely promised.

"It won't bring our little girl back, will it?" Walter snapped as he was barely holding his own tears back.

"No, it won't." Steve looked down at his hands. Every time he had to deliver the bad news it seemed to get harder. All there was left to do was give them comfort and closure. Steve pulled the USB drive out of his pocket. He placed it on the coffee table that stood in middle. "We found session files from Eden with her therapist, Dr. Bennett. Eden went to see her for years. It's all on this drive. I'm sure you'll find more answers in here."

Walter took the USB from the table and stared at it. Even though he was crushed and tears filled his eyes, after a moment he stood up and looked at Steve and shook his hand. "Thank you, Commander."

Steve gave him a firm nod while shaking Walter's hand. He shared a brief look with Danny and turned around. "Um, actually, my partner went above and beyond on this case. He wanted to make sure you would know the truth." Danny raised his eyebrows and looked surprised at Steve.

Awe transformed his face as Walter glanced at Danny. Swallowing his pride, Walter addressed him directly. "Thank you, Detective Williams."

Danny didn't expect Steve to say such a thing. He was caught off guard by it, so he stammered while talking with his hands. "It's our job, really, I uh... just hope you can forgive me for my behavior last time we spoke. I wasn't thinking clearly."

"It's all right." Walter extended his hand and Danny accepted.

"Thank you," Danny nodded appreciatively. For a moment he doubted about sharing the next facts, but if it were him, he would've wanted to know. "I thought you might want to know that the… uh the man who murdered Lauren, Dr. Bennett and your daughter, is also the father of your granddaughter. The parents of the man responsible for all of this are filing for custody of Hailey. I didn't know Eden, but she took care of herself and her baby girl even when the most horrible thing happened to her. She fought and she would want you to do the same for her daughter. Your granddaughter."

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 **MONDAY – 5:42 PM –** **MR. AND MRS. MORRISON'S RESIDENCE – DIAMOND HEAD**

As the gate closed Danny looked once more behind him. He was relieved that they finally told them the truth, but somehow it didn't feel right. Maybe it was because they left two devastated people behind. Hopefully with time it would get better. Steve had stopped and waited for Danny to join him. He came up to Steve and they both walked back towards the Camaro. Placing his hand on his abdomen Danny sighed which resulted in a small moan. A dull ache had settled in his stomach, well it actually had been there the past 20 minutes.

Steve noticed the moan and wince. "This trip was the most exciting thing you did for the upcoming few weeks, you understand me?"

"You are even worse than an ankle monitor, you know that? Actually I would voluntarily take one because you are much worse than that thing," Danny joked trying to divert Steve's comment. "A monitor would just beep if I would leave my house, no but you, you'll give me a speech every time I come off the couch, won't you?"

Steve looked disapprovingly aside at his partner. "Are you comparing me with an ankle monitor?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"No, not comparing. You are definitely worse, there's nothing to compare," Danny bantered back.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that." Steve rolled his eyes and his mouth curved into a smile. "We should get going; everyone is waiting for us at Side Street. I would say beers are on me tonight, but unfortunately you still can't drink," he teased. Steve had walked a few steps ahead when he noticed Danny had stopped. Turning around he observed Danny. A mix of confusion and recognition dawned on Danny's face. "You okay?" Steve asked concerned.

"No, wait a second." Danny stared at Steve with a deep frown. "Did you offer to pay for my beers another time? I mean, somehow it sounds familiar, like you said it before."

"Who? Me?" Steve smirked. "You all right?"

"Never mind, you would never say such a thing." Danny waggled his eyebrows and waved it off. He readjusted his button up shirt at the back of his pants. With a perplexed look still on Danny's face they started walking again.

Arriving at the Camaro Steve leaned on the rooftop with his forearms. "You might want to get that head of yours reexamined?" He signaled with his finger to his own head.

"No-no I do not wa..." Danny suddenly stopped and his face went blank. He locked eyes with Steve. "You did say such a thing, didn't you? You said it right as we got into my car… That Friday when we were at the bank downtown?" He sounded unconvinced.

"Nope, I did not." Steve pretended he didn't know what Danny was talking about.

"What, you think I'm making this up?" Danny raised his voice. "Let me guess, you're probably going to say it's some sort of reaction to dealing with the black hole that replaced the day of the explosion? Just so you could get away with buying those beers for me."

"No, of course not. I would never do such a thing," Steve said mildly sarcastic. "But yeah maybe it's more of a coping mechanism, you know?" He sounded amused.

"Oh excuse me, a coping mechanism! You might be right though. How could I possibly think that you offered me something so generous and unusual? I mean you never pay for anything." Danny snapped sharply, but teasingly.

Steve opened the door, but waited with one arm leaning on the open door and his other hand on the rooftop of the Camaro. He shook his head with disbelief and a broad smile appeared on his face. "You are one of a kind, Williams, let me tell you that."

"Why would you say that?" Danny straightened his back giving Steve a questioning, but judgmental glare.

"You know that there are 24 hours in that whole day you have been trying to recollect for the past several weeks, right?" Steve's eyes almost popped out of his head. "And out of the blue you're finally remembering things and you choose to remember the five minute argument, in which I offered to buy you a couple of beers. Now _that_ you do remember, that's impressive, that's all I'm saying." He put both hands up in the air like he was giving up on it.

Danny's whole face lit up. "You owe me, partner."

"I do, buddy, I do!" Steve couldn't help himself other than to smile as well. It was a good sign that Danny recollected a piece of that day. "Come on let's get something to eat and hopefully Chin will pay for it."

 **\- THE END -**

 **Maybe I'll write a sequel one day... but for now this is definitely it. Been stretching it for long enough I think :) There are still plenty of options left, but not along with this plot. I mean if I wanted I could write a lot of stories based on the head trauma thing. That would only work with a new case or something like that, but I don't know if anybody would be interested to read any of that. Let me know if you are.**

 **This is it for now :) Thank you for every thing! All the reviews, the favs and follows! Your words mean a lot to me! Mahalo!**

 **I'm writing another story (not a sequel) at the moment. Give me some time to finish it though :)** **Little teaser;**

 **It will be a coda on S04E14. Remember when Roy Parrish held Steve and Danny hostage inside the Camaro, after he escaped custody because he was wrongly convicted for murder? Parrish called Grace as leverage so she could hear her father die, if they weren't able to get him past the checkpoint and clear his name. YES? GOOD! Because this time, things will go a different way... not a death fic :)**


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